Jon Jones currently sits at No. 3 in the UFCās pound-for-pound rankings, and that, to Dana White, is worth scorching the earth over.
Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is at No. 1, and behind him is light heavyweight champ and former middleweight titleholder Alex Pereira. UFC CEO White has been banging the Jones No. 1 drum for a while, which he admits flies in the face of the history of his very public spats with the current heavyweight and former light heavyweight champ.
But White doesnāt care whom people put at Nos. 2 or 3 ā as long as Jones is atop the chart.
āJon Jones is ranked No. 3 pound-for-pound in the (UFC),ā White recently told longtime combat sports writer Kevin Iole. ā(That is the most) fcking ridiculous, embarrassing, stupid, know-nothing-about-fcking-fighting ranking of all f*cking time.ā
Much of the debate over Jonesā placement has to do with his inactivity. He won the heavyweight title in March 2023, putting him on the short list of fighters to hold belts in two UFC weight classes. He was set to return in November 2023, but suffered a training injury. Now Jones is expected to fight former heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic in November at Madison Square Garden.
Miocic lost the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021 and has been inactive ever since. By virtue of his record three consecutive UFC heavyweight title defenses and two reigns as champion, heās regarded by many as the greatest heavyweight in history. But it will be 44 months between fights if the November date comes to fruition ā nearly four years.
But Jonesā win over Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight strap is his only fight since early 2020, which has critics asking how someone with one fight in 4.5 years can be a valid No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
āJon Jones is still an active fighter,ā White said. āHe beat Cyril Gane. He got injured. He was supposed to fight. Heās going to fight again in November. Jon Jones is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, period. End of story. Whoever you want to call, Islam, Pereira No. 2-3, all good. To have anybody above Jon Jones right now just goes to show that you know absolutely f*cking nothing about combat sports and fighting.ā
The UFCās rankings, including the pound-for-pound list, are voted on by combat sports media members on a panel chosen by the UFC. MMA Junkie was asked at those rankingsā inception to take part, but declined. USA TODAY Sports and MMA Junkie have their own MMA rankings. Jones is third on that list, as well ā though USAT/MMAJās rankings have Pereira No. 1 and Makhachev No. 2.
Tom Aspinall won an interim heavyweight title after Jones got injured and his return timetable was revealed to be a minimum of eight months. He defended that interim belt with a quick finish of Curtis Blaydes a week ago, and the consensus opinion is he should be fighting Jones to unify the belts, rather than wait for Jones and Miocic.
March 2023 - beats Gane
Feb 2020 - Controversial decision over Dominick Reyes
Thats Jons resume over the last 5 years.
Activity matters. Islam is No. 1
AP at 2 doesnāt make sense though tbh and Iām a huge AP Stan
Its almost like being an active fighter bumps you up the rankings. Would one big win make Floyd the current boxing p4p?
Dana is legit a horrible promoter. P4P used to just be a title they gave to the least popular champion to make them sound more important. Canāt even do that right anymore.
Jones would crush Islam in a fight
Dana is right
Yes.
people who get embroiled in p4p debates are the fools in this one. absolute waste of time and doesnāt matter one single shit.
Crocop went 20-4-2 in his first five years in PRIDE and Dana wants to suck Jon off while going 2-0 in that amount of time and going 1-1 in some peopleās minds.
Stipe has gone 2-1 in the last five years and 0-0 in the last three years.
Dana loves distorting reality as much as humanly possible.
LOL
JJ has a good record, but 2 fights in 4 years and except Gus and Cormier and Gane, he hasnāt exactly eyepoked his way through a murdererās row.
āEverything Iām saying, these are f*cking facts,ā White said. āItās not like me and Jon Jones have this unbelievable relationship like I have with Ronda [Rousey] and Chuck Liddell and Conor [McGregor] and some of these guys that have fought in the past. You know this is not the case. What I am saying about Jon Jones is undebatable.
ā[Itās] undebatable what this guy has accomplished in his career, and if he beats Stipe and he comes out and fights Tom Aspinall and beats him, itās already undeniable ā nobody, I donāt care how much you dislike Jon Jones for what heās done, this isnāt about personally who Jon Jones is and do you like him, weāre talking about the baddest dude to ever walk the face of the Earth in combat sports already ā if he goes out and beats Tom Aspinall, he cements his legacy as the greatest fighter of all-time,ā he concluded.
Stipe can come out to the ring using a cain, and Dana will still say Jon beating him makes him the HW GOAT
Does Jones have incriminating photos of Dana?
Wild how much Dana jock rides him despite the massive amounts of problems heās caused, but immediately shits on anyone else for not doing exactly what he wants, when he wants.
Fedor went undefeated at HW for ten years and Dana said he sucks.
Jones hides from HW for fifteen years and wins a single HW fight vs a kickboxer and all of sudden Dana declares him the greatest of all-time. Renzo beating Mo Smith was more impressive than Jones beating Gane.
Honestly all that makes sense is some sort of blackmail or secret club shit.
Zero reason to let a fighter walk all over you, your sport, and your organization like he has for 10+ years.
Ya, I know Jon doesnāt have a ālossā on his record but his career has been flush with bad performances, asterisks, bad judging, and bad decisions. He is a bad look for the sport and any Org he fights for.
He is in no way the best HW in MMA or even at LHW right now, he is quite simply a complete shitshow inside, and outside of the cage.