“It’s Fedor, Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier,” the American said in an interview with The Schmo. “Jon Jones can be among the best if he stays in the heavyweight division and keeps winning – I’m sure he’s capable of that. I believe these guys deserve to be called the greatest, and if you include me among them, I’d be honored.”
Velasquez also shared his opinion on the upcoming title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, which headlines UFC 295 in New York City on Nov. 11.
“Jon Jones is probably the greatest fighter of all time. Stipe is one of the greatest heavyweights in history. A puncher always has a chance and Stipe has a lot to offer, so I wouldn’t discount him. There are too many ‘ifs’ in this fight that don’t allow for a definite answer”
Separately, the American heavyweight spoke about the UFC’s number two heavyweight, Russian Sergey Pavlovich, who was his sparring partner at AKA Club a few years ago.
“We trained with Sergey a few years ago when he wasn’t at that level yet. There weren’t many guys in the AKA gym that could give me decent resistance, but Sergey was a sparring partner that I had a lot of trouble working with. He has a very strong wrestling base, very strong wrestling defense, and he can also punch hard and has good striking. He has long arms and he’s very powerful – he was hard to deal with. He and Tom Aspinall have what it takes to be future stars in the heavyweight division.”