Jon Jones shares high praise for “masterful KO artist” Thiago Santos, but once again buries Anthony Smith

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones credited former opponent Thiago Santos while once again taking a shot at rival Anthony Smith.

Jones previously fought both Santos and Smith during his reign as the UFC light heavyweight champion. Jones squeaked by to win a split decision over Santos at UFC 239, but he dominated Smith in their title fight at UFC 235. Jones is not the UFC light heavyweight champion any longer, but he continues to take shots at his former rival Smith. There is no love lost between these two as Jones took another poke at “Lionheart.”

Taking to social media, Jones roasted Smith while praising Santos for his past encounters with both opponents. Here’s what Jones wrote in response to a fan on his Twitter.

Thiago Santos is a masterful knockout artist and I stood with him for 25 minutes. Fought him where he was absolute best, had Anthony Smith in the fetal position the whole fight. But sure I suck lol. Standards high when your 🐐 I get it https://t.co/AxqlIC1Qcf

— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020

Thiago Santos is a masterful knockout artist and I stood with him for 25 minutes. Fought him where he was absolute best, had Anthony Smith in the fetal position the whole fight. But sure I suck lol. Standards high when your I get it

Jones and Santos battled to a narrow split decision win for “Bones” in July 2019. Santos was arguably the closest opponent to ever defeating Jones until Dominick Reyes came along. Santos and Jones traded for the 25 minutes and although Santos lost the decision, he proved that he could hang with the champion and make it a competitive fight.

As for Smith, he was riding high in his initial run up the light heavyweight ladder, defeating several legends like Shogun Rua and Rashad Evans on the way up. But when he took on Jones, it was a totally different story. Jones schooled Smith for the whole fight and outside of a two-point deduction for an illegal knee, it was a blowout for the champ.

What do you make of the criticisms from Jon Jones directed at Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith?