Dana White engages in a heated 12-minute argument with reporters about whether Jon Jones is the best UFC fighter pound for pound

Despite heavy criticism, Dana White continues to praise Jon Jones.

The UFC CEO has faced heavy criticism for insisting his heavyweight champion is number one pound-for-pound despite only fighting once in four years.

White has repeatedly mocked members of the media who ranked Islam Makhachev and Alex Pereira ahead of Jones, who is ranked third on the UFC’s official list.

On Tuesday night, MMA’s big boss was about to wrap up his Contender Series press conference when a member of the media jokingly mentioned Jones’ P4P credentials.

White sat down and discussed his position with reporters for more than twelve minutes.

He began: “Are you people so damn stupid?

“You can’t be so damn stupid to think that Jon Jones isn’t the best boxer in the world and the GOAT. [Greatest Of All Time]but maybe you are.”

The 54-year-old begged his counterparts to discuss the issue.

“Ask me a question,” White said. “Who is better than Jon Jones? Who is pound for pound better than Jon Jones?”

Veteran MMA reporter John Morgan chimed in and said Jones cannot currently be considered the best fighter because he is not active enough.

White defended Jones by pointing out that he is currently injured but is still fighting actively and has a date in November to defend his belt against Stipe Miocic.

He replied: “You talk about inactivity and that he only fought once.

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UFC POUND FOR POUND TOP 10

1. Islam Makhachev
2. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Dricus du Plessis
6. Sean O’Malley
7. Mohammed Belal
8. Tom Aspinall
9. Leon Edwards
10. Alexander Volkanovsky

“Jon Jones should fight. If Jon Jones sat on the couch and said, ‘I don’t know when I’m going to fight again,’ then he’s definitely not in the pound-for-pound discussion right now.

“He was supposed to fight and he got injured. He is an active fighter.”

White continued to make his case against Makhachev by pointing out that many people thought he lost his first fight against Alexander Volkanovski, who moved up a division to face him twice more in 2023.

“I don’t want to screw over any of my guys,” the UFC CEO insisted.

“Many people believe that Islam lost to a man one weight class below him. Is that how pound for pound works?

“He fought in a lower weight class. Jon Jones fought in a higher weight class.”

Another well-known reporter, Kevin Iole, expressed his belief that Jones’ competitive level also contributes to his ranking at number three on the P4P list.

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While planning a fight against Miocic, who hasn’t fought since his knockout by Francis Ngannou in March 2021, Tom Aspinall is beating the best heavyweights on the list.

“But that’s the downside,” White countered. “What am I supposed to do? The guy who’s considered the biggest heavyweight in the UFC, right?”

This fight is set up. Jon Jones gets hurt. It’s not his fault. He has to wait and go back to training camp. He’s been training. So should I just take the gun away from Stipe and say, ‘Hey, fuck you and sit on the bench for two more years’?

“If I did that, you’d say, ‘Oh, you didn’t show any fucking respect to the greatest heavyweight of all time.’ And the fucking fans would say that too.

“So should I just screw Stipe because Jon got hurt and not fight? That’s the fight [they] both want. What do you do?

“They’re not showing the guys their respect. I guarantee you, if Stipe wins, he’ll retire. This will be Stipe’s last fight.”

“Are you, the media, telling me to just tell Stipe to fuck off and [say] ‘Good luck, Stipe. Ride off into the sunset and put out some fires and that’s it for you, buddy'” because Jon got hurt?”

White ended the debate with the same statement with which she had begun 12 minutes earlier.

“Jon Jones is pound for pound the best fighter,” he said with a grin as he rose from his seat, dropped the microphone and quickly left.