Jon Jones is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on this planet and also you’re not going to persuade Dana White in any other case.
After one other profitable episode of Dana White’s Contender Collection that noticed probably the greatest fights in DWCS historical past, the UFC CEO sat down to handle members of the media. Whereas the questions began easy sufficient, a lot of them surrounding the night’s motion, issues rapidly took a flip as quickly as somebody within the room dropped Jon Jones’ title.
“He’s the No. 1 greatest pound-for-pound fighter on this planet and the GOAT, and also you all know this,” White mentioned. “Numbers don’t lie.”
MMA journalist Kevin Iole then requested White, “Does he have photos of you?” which generated laughs across the room.
“Are you guys that f*cking silly?” White laughed again. “You possibly can’t be that f*cking silly to assume that Jon Jones is just not the pound-for-pound greatest fighter on this planet and the GOAT… however perhaps you might be?”
White stood up from the desk seemingly prepared to go away, however rapidly sat again all the way down to re-engage with everybody and proceed discussing his favourite debate subject.
“Query me,” White mentioned. “Who’s higher than Jon Jones? Who’s pound-for-pound higher than Jon Jones?”
John Morgan, host of The MMA Street Present, jumped in and answered, “At what level does inactivity come into play, proper? All of us agree there may be no person higher than Jon Jones. He’s the best of all time. There’s no query about it. However sooner or later, whenever you’re rankings, they do should symbolize what’s taking place within the group at that second, proper at the moment, and prior to now three years, he’s had one combat.”
White responded by noting that Jon Jones’ inactivity was not a selection. ‘Bones’ was initially scheduled to defend the undisputed heavyweight title towards Miocic final November in Madison Sq. Backyard earlier than a pectoral harm pressured him to bow out of the bout.
“You discuss inactivity and that he’s solely fought one time. Jon Jones was alleged to combat,” White mentioned. “If Jon Jones was sitting on the sofa saying, ‘I don’t know after I’m going to combat once more,’ then he’s positively not within the pound-for-pound dialogue proper now. He was scheduled to combat and he acquired injured. He’s an energetic fighter.”
Dana White disputes Islam Makhachev’s Standing because the No. 1 P4P fighter on this planet
White then introduced up present light-weight champion Islam Makhachev, the person who presently sits atop the P4P rankings.
“Islam, many individuals consider, misplaced to the man [Volkanovski] who’s a weight class under him,” White mentioned. “Is that how pound-for-pound works?”
White and Iole continued to trip over their differing definitions of being an “energetic fighter” earlier than switching gears to the Jones vs. Miocic reserving which White all however confirmed will headline the promotion’s pay-per-view occasion in November.
“Everybody on this room thinks Aspinall is extra highly-rated than Stipe, at this level,” Iole mentioned. “Stipe’s fame is unbelievable however he has not gained a combat since he beat [Daniel Cormier] – in 4 years. That additionally performs into it as partially an element when you have got a man like Aspinall knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in lower than a minute, Curtis Blaydes in lower than a minute, and so on., and so on.”
White didn’t essentially disagree with what Iole needed to say concerning Aspinall however supplied up a proof from his viewpoint, suggesting that ripping away Miocic’s combat with Jones could be disrespectful to the consensus heavyweight GOAT, particularly when their beforehand scheduled conflict fell aside via no fault of his personal.
“Right here’s the flip facet to that,” White mentioned. “What do I do? The man who’s checked out as the best heavyweight within the UFC, proper? This combat’s arrange. Jon Jones will get damage. It’s not his fault. He has to attend and return into coaching camp once more. He was coaching. So do I simply yank it away from Stipe and say, ‘Hey, go f*ck your self and sit on the sidelines for 2 extra years’? If I did that you simply guys could be like, ‘Oh, you f*cking disrespected the best heavyweight ever,’ so would the f*cking followers. So I ought to simply sh*t on Stipe as a result of Jon acquired damage, and never make the combat that he was already alleged to combat?’”
Iole identified that Miocic might have fought Aspinall as an alternative of sitting on the shelf for one more 12 months whereas ready for ‘Bones’ to return again.
“That is the combat [Jones and Miocic] each need,” White mentioned. “What do you do? You don’t present the blokes their respect. I assure you this, if Stipe wins, Stipe goes to retire. This might be Stipe’s final combat. Are you the media telling me I ought to simply inform Stipe to f*ck off and [say], ‘Good luck to you Stipe. Go journey off into the sundown and combat some fires and that’s a wrap for you, buddy,’ as a result of Jon acquired damage? Or do I present this man the respect that I ought to present him and provides them each the combat that they need? That’s the place I’m in.”
Earlier than eradicating himself from the state of affairs, White flashed a smile and as soon as once more reminded the room that Jon Jones is the very best pound-for-pound fighter on this planet.
