Jon Jones remains steadfast in his belief that one loss doesn’t define a fighter’s career; it’s how they respond to it that matters. After spending years at the top of the sport, the former UFC heavyweight champion believes that the response to a loss is more important than the defeat itself. And now, in an interview with Red Corner MMA, ‘Bones’ explained why he expects both Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev to return stronger after their first professional setbacks that saw their championship reigns come to an abrupt end.

“Ilia’s going to be in a good position,” Jon Jones told Red Corner MMA. “He has faith, a strong team, and that’s a lot of what it takes. He has the work ethic, and he’s also honest with himself.”

While ‘Bones’ feels the former champion already has the right mindset to return stronger, the loss was one of the most shocking upsets in recent UFC history. The Spaniard’s undefeated streak came to an end at UFC Freedom 250, when Justin Gaethje defeated him via fourth-round TKO to win the undisputed lightweight title. Despite this, the former heavyweight champion, who shares the same management team with Topuria and, as such, has some insight into how the 29-year-old has personally handled the setback, revealed that he has accepted the loss, which is the first step.

“Ilia and I share the same agent, and what I heard is that he’s humbled and that he’s honest,” he explained. “He realizes he just didn’t perform well—and that’s the number one step of getting back into the ring in a healthy way.

“It’s the guys that make excuses; that’s when it’s hard to come back and win that rematch. Guys who just say, you know what, I could have did better, I could have done more. Honesty with yourself is the key for MMA.”

While Jon Jones has technically never been defeated in his pro-MMA career (only one loss by disqualification), his perspective as someone who has performed at the highest level of the sport for close to two decades matters in this case.

Jones’ comments are also especially interesting given that he recently stated that Arman Tsarukyan, not Ilia Topuria, is the future of the lightweight division. Speaking at an IBA event in Russia, the former UFC heavyweight who retired last year referred to the Armenian as “the people’s champion.”

“Arman is already a champion,” Jones said. “He’s the people’s champion. Everyone loves him. And it’s not a matter of if he’s going to be a champion; it’s when he’ll be that great champion.”

But that’s not all, as ‘Bones’ further stated that he would choose ‘Ahalkalakets’ over Ilia Topuria if the two ever go one-on-one.

“You already know; come on, Arman all day. Come on,” he said.

But now, it seems like Jon Jones is not completely writing ‘El Matador’ off after his first professional defeat either. It is also worth noting that the former lightweight kingpin wasn’t the only former unbeaten champion Jon Jones discussed in the interview.

Jon Jones believes Khamzat Chimaev needs to fix one major weakness

Khamzat Chimaev also suffered a massive loss, a first for him too, earlier this year, as Sean Strickland clinched the middleweight title with a split decision at UFC 328 after a five-round war with the Chechen. After the bout, Chimaev’s brother, Artur, made a big confession about the likely reason behind the major upset.

“There were no injuries, but the weight cut was a problem,” Artur said in an interview for Спорт. “The question arose whether to cancel the fight or take a risk. With 1.2 kg (2.65 pounds) remaining, his body shut down.”

But while Jon Jones sympathized with ‘Borz,’ he believes the defeat also exposed an area that now needs serious attention.

“Big fan of Khamzat, man,” he said. “It was hard to see him lose. It really was. I was really surprised by that, by that fight. But Khamzat, like I said, his family, team, people that believe in you—it’s easy to get up and get back on your horse with a team like his. So he’ll be okay.

“I think when he got taken down, I think that was the main shift. When he was down and he was on his back, I feel like that was the main shift. He’s not used to being in that position. He’s usually the dominant one. I think being down and being on his back somewhere in his mind took him out of the fight.”

Now with the title out of his hands, ‘Bones’ believes that rather than dwelling on the loss, Khamzat Chimaev should attack the weakness head-on.

“If I was Khamzat, I would work on my weaknesses,” Jones added. “That’s something that I personally do before every fight. I will watch a fight and I’ll say, ‘How can this person beat me?’ I would say maybe switching up your endurance routine and spend more time on your back. Maybe throw up some submissions and things like that.

“You know, Khamzat is a great kicker, great boxer, great wrestler, especially when he put you in that body lock. But we don’t really see him on his back very often. So I would go back to the drawing board. I would learn to be comfortable on my back, develop a strong jiu-jitsu game on my back, and mainly focus on the mindset.”

It is true that the former middleweight champion has not spent much time being on his back and, therefore, is likely untrained in how to get out of those positions, which is where an expertise in jiu-jitsu can help him.

The advice is also especially notable given Jon Jones’ past praise for Khamzat Chimaev. After all, earlier this year, the UFC legend described the middleweight champion as one of the best fighters on the planet. In fact, he expressed interest in training with the former middleweight champion.

“Real recognizing real; hope to train with him some time,” Jones stated.

So, despite Khamzat Chimaev’s first career setback, ‘Bones’ definitely still has faith in him. If anything, he believes the loss only exposed a few flaws that can be fixed before trying another run at UFC gold.