Last year, Dana White couldn’t stop himself from calling Jon Jones the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Now, the UFC CEO is reversing course after seeing Islam Makhachev make quick work of short-notice replacement opponent Renato Moicano at the promotion’s first pay-per-view of the year.
Makhachev scored a quick-fire submission victory over Moicano after his originally scheduled opponent, Arman Tsarukyan, bowed out of their lightweight championship headliner mere hours before they were scheduled to make the walk in Los Angeles.
Notching his fourth-straight defense of the 155-pound crown, Makhachev solidified his spot as the No. 1 ranked P4P fighter in the world and Dana White couldn’t agree more.
“There’s no doubt about it,” White said during the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. “He’s the best pound-for-pound in the world right now and he’s the definitely the best to ever do it in that division.”
It’s quite the change from where we were just a few months ago when White was getting into heated debates with journalists over Jones’ undeniable status as the greatest of all time.
But White’s comments mean very little to Tom Aspinall, the man slated to square off with ‘Bones’ later this year.
“Now we’re seeing Dana White coming out and saying that he’s the pound-for-pound No. 1 in the world, Islam Makhachev,” Aspinall said in a video on his YouTube channel. “As we all know, to me, pound-for-pound is a lot of made-up stuff. I don’t look into that. But it’s just funny that he’s kind of jumped ship now from Jon Jones to Islam… Islam did what he was supposed to do: went out there, fought whoever was put in front of him, which is what a champion is supposed to do.”
Dana White Confident Jones vs. Aspinall goes down in 2025
Following Jon Jones’ win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, attention quickly turned to a long-awaited title indication clash with Aspinall, the promotion’s interim heavyweight titleholder. During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, White expressed confidence that the fight will get done in 2025.
“We’re in the works, we’re talking on it,” White said. “I mean, I’ve said that I’m very confident that fight happens this year… Nothing’s holding it up. It’s just a matter of getting it done. You know, this stuff, it’s not as easy to put these types of fights together as people think they are. They take time, and we’ll get it done.”
Just a few short weeks ago, rumors began swirling that Jones was seeking a massive $30 million payday for his scrap with Aspinall. However, Dana White called bullsh*t on the rumors, but only after Joe Rogan repeated it during an episode of his JRE podcast.
