UFC 302 didn’t only have an immersive display of mind-blowing fights, but also some probable changes in the leaderboard. Despite defending his title successfully for the third time, Islam Makhachev is not the best P4P fighter for his boss. Dana White responded to a question from the media that Jon Jones was the one who deserved to be at the top of the list. Hours after the announcement was made, Jones came up with a verdict for the Dagestani fighter.

Not too long ago, the UFC heavyweight champion claimed that the Dagestani team was indeed the future of the sport. Given the impressive competition that Makhachev came up with in his bout against Dustin Poirier, Jones presented his verdict in his favor.

Jon Jones credits Islam Makhachev for his win at UFC 302

Recently, Jones took to X and released a tweet that garnered quite a bit of attention from the fight fans. This came right after the UFC head honcho declared that ‘Bones’ was indeed the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Jones replied to a tweet that shared footage of Makhachev hammering Alexander Volkanovski in their last bout, remembering the time when he fought Daniel Cormier. 

In the comments of the tweet, a fan on X asked the HW champ about his opinion on the Dagestani fighters, he revealed that he had unfathomable respect for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team. In the tweet, he wrote, “I have high respect for them all, they are the future of the sport. The work ethic seems to be unmatched.”

But things didn’t end there! Jones recently revealed that he was in Salt Lake City, Utah, for a couple of days and declared that it was a place he could settle in. But in the comments section, a fan asked him to offer some respect to Makhachev, claiming that he deserved it. And Jones did just that. He admitted that the LW champ was indeed doing a great job. The tweet read, “Bro, I agree, he’s doing an amazing job.”

Makhachev, without a doubt, has a massive fanbase, that includes Joe Rogan and many others. He is still on the way to defeating champions and desires to climb up the weight ladder to become a double champion. Undeniably, he was inspired by the likes of Jon Jones. But ‘Bones’ is a fighter who had previously defeated a boatload of opponents and has now become a double champion, a feat that only a handful of fighters can boast about. But is that why the UFC CEO wanted Jones at the top of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings?

Dana White puts ‘Bones’ at the peak of P4P rankings

During the UFC 302 post-fight press conference, one of the reporters asked White about Makhachev’s status on the rankings. The reporter highlighted Rogan’s claims about Makhachev. The famed UFC color commentator once opined that the Dagestani champ was the “perfect lightweight”, owing to his size, fighting style, and fight intelligence. But the UFC head honcho seemed to have a different view.

The UFC CEO said, “I think he’s one of the greats of all time. I think he’s incredible. I don’t think he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. For anybody to call Islam Makhachev the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world while Jon Jones is still f***ing fighting is nuts. Shouldn’t be ranking in the pound for pound or doing any rankings ever.” 

With Makhachev trying his best to become a double champion and break the records set by Jones and Nurmagomedov, he might not give up his seat at the pinnacle of the P4P list for a while. However, Jones isn’t someone that the world of mixed martial arts can simply keep at a lower rank.

What do you think of Makhachev? Do you agree with White’s decision to put Jones at the top of the P4P rankings? Let us know in the comments down below.