Dana White Names 3 Things That Make Jon Jones the UFC GOAT

Dana White has reiterated time and again that he thinks UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. In fact, so enamored is the UFC CEO with Jones and his greatness that he publicly and vocally took issue with Islam Makhachev being ranked #1 on the men’s UFC pound-for-pound rankings over ‘Bones’. And in a recent appearance where he yet again declared Jones to be the GOAT, the host asked White to explain “What makes Jon Jones so unique?” To which, the Power Slap founder gave three main reasons.

The first reason White gave for his greatest-ever assessment of Jones was that “Jon Jones has a great chin.” Followed by the fact that ‘Bones’ has an excellent and well-rounded game, as effective in standup as he was on the ground: “Jon Jones is good anywhere the fight goes.” The third and final reason the UFC boss gave while speaking on Shannon Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast, was that “Jon Jones is a killer, he’s a killer. Jon Jones doesn’t go in and try to squeak out, you know, a decision.”

In addition, White felt that Jones’ “dark side” is what has helped him become the greatest ever to lace up the fingerless gloves. To explain this point, the UFC boss gave the example of Jones’s leaked interaction with Daniel Cormier ahead of their UFC 178 title clash in 2014, where the heavyweight champ famously threatened to kill ‘DC’ (to which the latter had responded with the now-iconic “You think I’m just gonna stand there and let you kill me, Jon?”).

“He’s the best, and there is a dark side to Jon Jones. Look at when him and Cormier were in that interview, and they thought that the cameras were off, right. And they start talking to each other back and forth… and Jon Jones is like ‘I’ll kill you. Like we’re not talking about fighting I’ll kill you,'” White added.

Although this ‘dark side’ may be behind his killer instance and has gotten Jones a lot of success in the octagon, it has also led to him being one of the most controversial and polarizing fighters in the sport. ‘Bones’ is now gearing up to face Dana White’s pick for the heavyweight GOAT, Stipe Miocic sometime this year. Originally scheduled to face the former heavyweight champ at UFC 295 last year, Jones got injured weeks from the Madison Square Garden bout and had to pull out.

Since then, a lot has happened in the heavyweight division, which has affected Jones’ current reputation and may even diminish his legacy, but not as per Dana White.

White feels Jones has nothing left to prove amid ‘ducking’ accusations

After Jones withdrew from UFC 295, the UFC booked heavyweight wunderkind Tom Aspinall against knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title as a replacement. And after Aspinall defeated the Russian in spectacular fashion to become the new interim champ, the UFC world has been calling on Jones to fight the Englishman.

Jones, however, is adamant that he wants to fight Miocic. The latter, however, is not expected to be much of a challenge for ‘Bones’. Miocic is 41, and last fought three years ago, where he got knocked out by Francis Ngannou in the second round. On the other hand, Aspinall is seen as the future of the division and has been termed the ‘next evolution’ of MMA fighters by the likes of Joe Rogan. And Jones’ refusal to fight the interim champ has been seen as the former 205-pound champion ‘ducking’ the Englishman.

White, however, has rubbished these concerns and feels Jones has already proven everything he needs to prove in the octagon. “Jon Jones has nothing to argue about Jon Jones has nothing to prove anymore but the fact that he’s still here and still wants to you know he’s going to come out and fight Stipe and the fact that he could fight Aspinall, it’s unbelievable. He will not truly be appreciated until he’s gone,” White told Sharpe.

While the UFC CEO may not think that Jones has anything to prove, many fans think that if Jones retires without fighting Aspinall, it would stain his otherwise GOAT legacy. And White didn’t close the door on a possible Jones-Aspinall fight after Miocic, saying Jones “could” fight the Englishman. But the prospects of it are not looking good at the moment, as ‘Bones’ is widely expected to retire after beating the heavyweight GOAT.

Do you agree with White’s views about Jon Jones? Should the HW champion take on Aspinall? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.