Tom Aspinall Reacts to UFC CEO Dana White Bumping Jon Jones from Top P4P Ranking

Tom Aspinall isn’t a huge fan of pound-for-pound rankings, but he did enjoy the adjustment Dana White made to his personal list in the immediate aftermath of UFC 311.
Aspinall Reacts To White Naming Islam Makhachev P4P #1
The UFC’s interim heavyweight champion successfully defended his belt in a rematch with Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last year, and now the 31-year-old and countless fight fans are waiting on news of when (and if) he’ll face Jon Jones in a title unification bout sometime this year.
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Both Aspinall and White have indicated they think the fight will come together despite the fact that Jones has remained fairly quiet on the subject since defeating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, but one thing that might motivate “Bones” to return is that Islam Makhachev has apparently taken his #1 spot on the UFC CEO’s personal pound-for-pound list after his latest title defense.
White has previously leaned into various memes and fan jokes about his commitment to calling Jones the sport’s pound-for-pound king, but an admission at the UFC 311 post-fight press conference that he had to “give it to” Makhachev didn’t go unnoticed by Aspinall.
“Now we’ve seen Dana White coming out and saying ‘He’s the pound-for-pound number one in the world, Islam Makhachev.,’” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “As we all know, to me, pound-for-pound is a load of made-up stuff. So, I don’t look into that. But it’s just funny how he’s kind of jumped ship now from Jon Jones to Islam.”
Makhachev Did "What A Champion Is Supposed To Do"
There’s certainly a chance that the UFC CEO might have been trying catch Jones' attention with the comment and encourage him to accept a fight with Aspinall, and the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion went on to praise Makhachev for dominating a short-notice replacement in Renato Moicano at UFC 311.
“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 – fought the guy that the UFC told him to fight. And he got the win, and he’s levels above anybody else in that division. He’s gonna hold the belt for a long, long time, and that is something that I’m very excited for, because I’m a massive Islam Makhachev fan.”
Makhachev was originally scheduled to rematch #1-ranked lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311, but after Tsarukyan suffered a back injury during his weight cut Moicanp stepped up to fight for the lightweight belt and was submitted by the champion in the first round.
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Rumors that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira was considering a move to the heavyweight division were at least temporarily put to rest during the UFC 311 broadcast with the announcement that “Poatan” will headline UFC 313 opposite Magomed Anakalev, and that news appears to clear the way for the Jones vs. Aspinall matchup that so many fans are clamoring for.
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