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Dana White has criticized the UFC P4P rankings system, expressing his ire that Jon Jones isn't regarded as the No.1 fighter in the world. The discourse about who the top three greatest fighters in the world are has skyrocketed ever since Jones' inactivity became notable.
However, in a recent sitdown with Barstool's Robbie Fox on My Mom's Basement with Robbie Fox, the UFC CEO touched on his issues with the current rankings. In his opinion, Islam Makhachev should not be ranked ahead of 'Bones' at all. In fact, he opined that the Dagestani star shouldn't even be ranked No.2.
"Jon Jones is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. Alex [Pereira] actually moved two different weight classes, went up and is willing to fight at heavyweight, saying, 'I will fight at heavyweight' so he's definitely number two. And I love Islam [Makhachev], I'm not trying to sh*t on Islam. Islam is number three."
Thereafter, White hit out at the MMA media for not regarding Jones as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.
"Let me talk to you about the media and the rankings. Let's look at the lightweight division, look at number nine. We got Max Holloway. Max Holloway is number nine. Now go from nine up and look at number three, someone he just knocked out at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje, he basically beat him twice. So he's three, Holloway is number nine, how the f**k does that make sense in any universe?"
Check out Dana White's thoughts on the UFC rankings system (12:15):
The UFC CEO will likely continue his crusade against Jones' naysayers as he looks to book 'Bones' into a heavyweight title fight with divisional great Stipe Miocic.
Dana White has criticized the rankings before
On a past livestream on Instagram, Dana White echoed similar sentiments regarding the UFC rankings not listing Jon Jones as the No.1 fighter on the roster. As Instagram livestreams aren't permanent on the platform, the aforementioned one has since made the rounds on X/Twitter.
"I'm looking at my board right here. These f**king media guys have Jon Jones ranked number three in the pound-for-pound. I know I keep f**ing going back to this, but these guys are so f**ing stupid."
Check out Dana White's past Instagram live (0:06):
Despite White's championing of Jones, there will continue to be pushback against his insistence until 'Bones' fights Tom Aspinall.
