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Jon Jones Above All: Dana White Roasts UFC Rankings Panel - 'F****** Ridiculous'

UFC CEO Dana White sat down with Kevin Iole and went on another all-time rant in defense of the heavyweight champion.

Zain Bando

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

According to UFC CEO Dana White, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1, MMA, 21-1, 1 NC UFC) is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

White, who was not seen during the UFC Abu Dhabi weigh-ins Friday nor on the TV broadcast Saturday afternoon during the event, recently did a 30-minute sitdown with longtime MMA journalist Kevin Iole where the UFC's head honcho was seen in the "War Room" in Las Vegas, NV.

Iole was quick to ask White about Jones' inactivity, as he was sidelined in the fall of 2023 due to a torn pectoral muscle, thus canceling his fight with former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC).

The fight would have been Jones' first title defense since moving to heavyweight, winning the then-vacant title at UFC 285 with a first-round submission against Ciryl Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). Gane rematches Alexander Volkov (38-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) at UFC 308 in October in Abu Dhabi.

The winner would likely stay in the mix for a heavyweight title shot as Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) defended his interim heavyweight title with a first-round KO against Curtis Blaydes (18-5 MMA, 13-5, 1 NC UFC) at UFC 304 exactly one week ago.

Like the last few months, White has been adamant in defending Jones, who he has repetitively said is the greatest fighter in any combat sport.

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"Jon Jones is ranked #3 pound-for-pound in the world," White told Iole. "That's the most f***ing ridiculous, embarassing, stupid, know nothing about f***ing fighting ranking of all f***ing time."

Jon Jones Above All: Dana White Roasts UFC Rankings Panel - 'F****** Ridiculous'
Feb 15, 2020; Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA; UFC fighter Jon Jones attends the light heavyweight bout between Jan Blachowicz (blue) and Corey Anderson (red) during UFC Fight Night at Santa Ana Star Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

At press time, Jones is ranked No. 3 in the pound-for-pound UFC rankings as of Tuesday, trailing behind Alex Pereira, who is 2-0 in 2024, and Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC), who successfully defended his lightweight title in June against Dustin Poirier.

White did reassure Iole that the plan is to re-book Jones and Miocic, highly encouraging the winner to face Aspinall to unify the belts.

For now, though, only time will tell.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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