In recent weeks, UFC CEO Dana White has gone out of his way to recognize heavyweight champion Jon Jones as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion.
White became very critical of media members who dropped Jones a few spots on the P4P rankings due to inactivity when other dominant champions, such as Alex Pereira and Islam Makhachev, were more active.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) returns to action Nov. 16 at UFC 309 to defend his heavyweight title for the first time against former champ Stipe Miocic. It’s a matchup slated to take place last year, but a Jones injury delayed the fight. Throughout it all, White still views Jones as the No.1 P4P fighter, which the champ greatly appreciates.
“It’s just an honor, that’s all,” a smiling Jones told Kevin Iole. “It’s just a huge honor to even be considered at 37 years old one of the most well-rounded winners in our sport still. It’s a huge honor and I’m just very grateful that my boss, a man who’s sat front row for every fight, all of our fights.
“For him to say, ‘Hey, listen guys, trust me. I know what I’m watching. I know what I’m looking at, and in my opinion, if Jon was the same size as a lot of these other guys, Jon would be in the mix.'”
It wasn’t that White simply supported Jones as the P4P king. The UFC boss got into intense debates about the topic during news conferences, so much so that White’s stance became a meme in online MMA circles.
There’s no doubt that Jones has an established legacy as the best light heavyweight champion in the sport’s history. He added to it by becoming the heavyweight champion last March. Simply put, he’s the consensus GOAT.
However, the P4P ranking is heavily influenced by activity, and Jones has only fought once since leaving the light heavyweight division in 2020. His ranking of No. 3 on the UFC’s official P4P ranking with that schedule is a nod to his legacy as one of the greatest ever to compete.
“I think we have a lot of new fans, a lot of younger fans, who, you know – our sport can be very ‘what have you done for me lately,’ and I think Dana is doing a great job of saying, ‘Hey, let’s wait a minute. Let’s remember what this guy has done,’ and I’m grateful,” Jones said.
“I’m grateful that he’s not allowing the naysayers, or some of the fans to just push me to the side, because I have done a tremendous amount of work for this company. I’ve done it at a very young age, and I did it at very middle age, and I’m doing it at a late age now, and I’m just grateful to be recognized.”
