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Video – Dana White gets into heated debate with MMA journalist Kevin Iole over Jon Jones’ P4P ranking

Video - Dana White gets into heated debate with MMA journalist Kevin Iole over Jon Jones' P4P ranking Dana White believes Jon Jones is the greatest P4P fighter on the planet and we don’t recommend you try…

Dana White believes Jon Jones is the greatest P4P fighter on the planet and we don’t recommend you try to tell him otherwise.

Following Saturday’s stellar UFC 303 card in Las Vegas, White got into a heated debate with combat sports journalist Kevin Iole regarding whether or not ‘Bones’ belongs at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings even though he hasn’t fought in over a year.

“Listen to me. I’m not defending Jon Jones,” White said during the post-fight press conference. “He’s been one of my biggest f*cking headaches the entire time I’ve been in this company. The guy hasn’t been the model fighter in the company. No matter what you think of Jon Jones, he’s the f*cking best ever. He’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.”

Iole, on the other hand, believes that Jon Jones should be exempt from P4P honors due to his recent activity. However, White was quick to point out that ‘Bones’ isn’t sitting on the sidelines by choice. He was injured in October and forced to undergo surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle weeks before his previously scheduled scrap with two-time heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic.

“If you were coming into a fight and you f*cking got hurt, that means you’re not the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world anymore? How does that even make sense? That doesn’t make sense,” White continued. “If he was sitting out, f*cking getting arrested, running around, and whatever, you’d say, ‘Well, Jon Jones is inactive’ and I’d say maybe you’re right.

“As an educated adult who knows the fight business, you cannot deny that while Jon Jones is active, he is the greatest fighter in the world. I don’t know what you’re arguing about here. I don’t know how we’re in this conversation.”

Jon Jones’ resume speaks for itself

As it stands, Jon Jones is listed as the No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, one spot behind reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. But when it comes to the all-time list, you’re unlikely to find anyone with the resume and longevity of the former light heavyweight and reigning undisputed heavyweight king.

Dominating the competition at 205 for more than a decade, ‘Bones’ has bested a who’s who of light heavyweight legends, including Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira, and Daniel Cormier.

In May 2023, Jones returned to the Octagon for the first time in three years and quickly dispatched Ciryl Gane in the opening round to claim the vacant heavyweight title, securing his legacy as a two-division champion. Bones’ is expected to step back inside the cage later this year for his long-awaited scrap with consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic.

When and where that takes place is yet to be announced, but all signs point toward the two headlining the promotion’s annual pit stop at MSG in November.

Until then, look back at some of Jon Jones’ greatest highlights below:

UFC CEO Dana White insists Jon Jones, not Islam Makhachev, is the No. 1 P4P fighter in the world

As long as Jon Jones is around, Islam Makhachev will never be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the…

As long as Jon Jones is around, Islam Makhachev will never be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

That’s according to Dana White, who made his feelings about Makhachev’s spot at the top of the P4P rankings abundantly clear, even after the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ dispatched one of the greatest lightweights of all time at UFC 302 on Saturday night.

“I think he’s one of the greats of all time,” White said when asked about Makhachev’s spot at the top of the P4P rankings during the post-fight press event. “I think he’s incredible. I don’t think he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. For anybody to call Islam Makhachev the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world with Jon Jones is still f*cking fighting is nuts. Shouldn’t be ranking in the pound for pound or doing any rankings ever.

“Jon Jones has never lost a fight ever and he’s fought all the baddest dudes in the world. And then when you think about what pound-for-pound rankings really mean, he moved up to heavyweight and destroyed the best guy in the world. As long as Jones is still fighting, active, and in the rankings, nobody [else] is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

“When you think about what pound-for-pound really means… [Makhachev] fought Volkanovksi who’s a weight class lower than him,” White continued. “Jon Jones beat everybody at light heavyweight and then beat the best heavyweight in the division like it was nothing. Jon Jones with the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and probably the greatest fighter of all time in any sport.”

Maybe White will change his mind if Makhachev moves up and scores himself a second strap.

Is Dana White Right about Jon Jones?

It’s hard to argue with White’s statement, even if your feelings on Jones are clouded by his many unsavory antics outside of the Octagon.

Though ‘Bones’ is regularly touted as being undefeated, he does carry a single loss on his record which came as the result of an absolutely ridiculous disqualification in 2009. Makhachev’s one loss, on the other hand, was the result of a nasty first-round knockout against Adriano Martins — a fighter who exited the promotion a year later.

Jones also spent the majority of his career defending his light heavyweight title against every legend and top-ranked contender the promotion threw at him. Meanwhile, Makhachev just now put his gold on the line against a legit lightweight after back-to-back bouts against former 145-pound champ Alexander Volkanovski.

Do you agree with Dana White’s assessment of the pound-for-pound rankings, or do you believe Islam Makhachev is right where he belongs at the top of the list?

UFC CEO Dana White insists Jon Jones, not Islam Makhachev, is the No. 1 P4P fighter in the world

As long as Jon Jones is around, Islam Makhachev will never be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the…

As long as Jon Jones is around, Islam Makhachev will never be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

“I think he’s one of the greats of all time,” White said when asked about Makhachev’s spot at the top of the P4P rankings during the post-fight press event. “I think he’s incredible. I don’t think he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. For anybody to call Islam Makhachev the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world with Jon Jones is still f*cking fighting is nuts. Shouldn’t be ranking in the pound for pound or doing any rankings ever.

“Jon Jones has never lost a fight ever and he’s fought all the baddest dudes in the world. And then when you think about what pound-for-pound rankings really mean, he moved up to heavyweight and destroyed the best guy in the world. As long as Jones is still fighting, active, and in the rankings, nobody [else] is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

“When you think about what pound-for-pound really means… [Makhachev] fought Volkanovksi who’s a weight class lower than him,” White continued. “Jon Jones beat everybody at light heavyweight and then beat the best heavyweight in the division like it was nothing. Jon Jones with the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and probably the greatest fighter of all time in any sport.”

Maybe White will change his mind if Makhachev moves up and scores himself a second strap.

Is Dana White Right about Jon Jones?

It’s hard to argue with White’s statement, even if your feelings on Jones are clouded by his many unsavory antics outside of the Octagon.

Do you agree with Dana White’s assessment of the pound-for-pound rankings, or do you believe Islam Makhachev is right where he belongs at the top of the list?

Joe Rogan touts Alexander Volkanovski as UFC’s No. 1 P4P fighter: ‘[Makhachev] lost that fight’

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski belongs at the top of the promotion’s P4P rankings. Since making his UFC debut in 2016, few fighters have been as dominant as Volkanovski. Despite that, ‘The Great’ finds himself firmly posited in the No. 2 spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings following a contentious […]

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski belongs at the top of the promotion’s P4P rankings.

Since making his UFC debut in 2016, few fighters have been as dominant as Volkanovski. Despite that, ‘The Great’ finds himself firmly posited in the No. 2 spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings following a contentious loss to reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in February. Volkanovski suffered a unanimous decision defeat in his bid to become a two-division titleholder, but many fighters and fans believe he did more than enough to dethrone the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ in The Land Down Under.

That includes popular podcaster Joe Rogan who firmly believes that Alexander Volkanovski deserved to have his hand raised and as a result, belongs at the time of the coveted P4P list.

“He’s No. 1 pound-for-pound,” Rogan said on his podcast. “They have him as not pound-for-pound [No. 1 in the UFC] because he lost that fight [to Islam Makhachev]. I think you could make a real argument that he won that fight. I think he won the fight. In my mind, he won the fight” (h/t MMA Fighting).

The way Rogan sees it, ‘The Great’ did a better job of imposing his will and delivering damage throughout the five-round affair.

“He did more damage,” Rogan said of Volkanovski. “I think he imposed his skill set. It’s also insanely impressive that he goes up from [featherweight] to fight a massive [lightweight]. That guy is as big at [155 pounds] as anybody is, and at the end of the fight, [Volkanovski] is on top beating him up. He drops him, gets on top of him and had massive moments throughout the fight.”

Joe Rogan says Alexander Volkanovski should've been the winner against Islam Makhachev #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/vUkN3PRW0r

— SOUND (@itsavibe) February 12, 2023

Joe Rogan Believes Charles Oliveira Will Benefit From Volkanovski’s Performance Against Islam Makhachev

On October 21, Makhachev will return to defend his title against Charles Oliveira in a long-awaited rematch between the pair. ‘Do Bronx’ came up short in their 2022 meeting, suffering a second-round submission, but after seeing Volkanovski take Makhachev to the limit, a blueprint for success against the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ could give Oliveira an advantage when it comes to reclaiming the 155-pound title.

“You kind of see vulnerability in Islam after that fight with Volkanovski,” Rogan explained. “First of all, you see how good Volkanovski really is. F*cking animal. [But] it sort of gives an air of vulnerability with Islam where before people were like, ‘This guy’s unstoppable.’”

Following Oliveira’s incredibly impressive bounce-back victory against Beneil Dariush in June, Rogan expects a much different ‘Do Bronx’ come UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.

“Looking at Charles versus Beneil Dariush, it’s like he’s back,” Rogan said.

Kamaru Usman continues slide further down pound for pound rankings following UFC 286 decision loss

Kamaru Usman, who was once the UFC pound-for-pound number one fighter, has once again dropped down the ladder with the conclusion of his trilogy against Leon Edwards. With all the marbles on the line at UFC 286, Usman had made it clear that Edwards capitalizing on a mistake he made in their rematch would not […]

Kamaru Usman, who was once the UFC pound-for-pound number one fighter, has once again dropped down the ladder with the conclusion of his trilogy against Leon Edwards.

With all the marbles on the line at UFC 286, Usman had made it clear that Edwards capitalizing on a mistake he made in their rematch would not be repeated, but ‘Rocky’ once again found a way to win.

Although there may have been several referee interventions against Edwards, including a point deduction after a fence grab, the Jamaican-born welterweight remained composed and clearly out-pointed Kamaru Usman over five rounds, winning by majority decision.

Kamaru Usman slips down the UFC pound-for-pound pile

This, just the second loss of Usman’s UFC career, steered him down three spots in the P4P rankings, taking him from #5 to #8.

Undisputed bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (#7), newly crowned middleweight champion Alex Pereira (#6), and former champion Israel Adesanya (#5) all moved up ahead of the Kamaru Usman.

Pereira will defend his title for the first time at UFC 287 in Miami, Florida. This will be his fourth time exchanging blows with ‘The last stylebender’ in combat sports, and it will surely have a major influence on the next P4P update.

Sterling will go head-to-head with former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 288, as Cejudo returns following a three-year layoff.

While Jon Jones is set to face Stipe Miocic this summer, it is unlikely any result removes him from his P4P #1 status, a ranking he has been familiar with throughout his UFC career.

It is up to Alexander Volkanovski (#2), who will be returning to featherweight to fight interim champion Yair Rodriguez later this year, to put any kind of pressure on Jones’ position.

P4P #3 Islam Makhachev may have struggled immensely in his first championship defence, but he will have to remain consistent as Edwards crawls his way up the rankings.

Edwards is expected to hold his second title defence against Colby Covington as per Dana White.

Daniel Cormier Disagrees With Jon Jones Returning To P4P Top Spot

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe that Jon Jones’ ascension to the pound-for-pound top spot was warranted. This past weekend, Jones returned in a big way. Following two reigns and a lengthy period of dominance …

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier Disagrees With Jon Jones Returning To P4P Top Spot at MMA News.