UFC CEO Destroys Jon Jones' Critics: 'Shouldn't Be Ranking In the Pound-For Pound'

Despite Islam Makhachev's fifth-round D'Arce choke victory to defend his UFC lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in Saturday's UFC 302 main event, UFC CEO Dana White still ranks UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones as the No. 1 fighter on the planet.

White did not discount Makhachev's greatness in any way but did acknowledge that Jones' near-flawless layoff in a comeback effort against Ciryl Gane after a three-year layoff is something that, according to White's opinion, had never been done.

"I don’t think he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world," White said Saturday night at the post-fight presser when asked if Makhachev surpassed Jones. (H/T MMA Fighting) "For anyone to call Islam the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world when Jon Jones is still f****** fighting is nuts and shouldn’t be ranking in the pound-for-pound, or doing any of the f****** rankings ever if that’s what you really think."

UFC 302: ISLAM MAKHACHEV VS. DUSTIN POIRIER RESULTS & HIGHLIGHTS

Jones was quick to respond to White on 'X' (formerly Twitter) late Saturday night, thus taking the stance that it's hard to discredit White, given that the UFC CEO has seen practically every major fight over the past two-plus-decades since acquiring the company in Feb. 2001.

It felt awesome to get that level of recognition from the boss, the man that’s literally been here since UFC 1. I know the haters are not gonna like his comments but Dana’s a pretty hard person to argue with. @danawhite has had a front row seat to my entire career, facts are…
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 2, 2024

Nevertheless, the victory was Makhachev's 26th MMA win and his first against a natural lightweight since capturing the belt against Charles Oliveira in Oct. 2022 at UFC 280. Makhachev would eventually move on and fight ex-UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in back-to-back encounters, as the second meeting, a KO victory for Makhachev, left no doubt who the better man was.

For now, Makhachev's next fight remains to be seen, but the possibilities for the lightweight champion remain endless.

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