After his victory over Alexander Volkanovski last year, Islam Makhachev became the men’s #1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. This means he is considered to be the best male fighter in the promotion, regardless of weight class.

But UFC CEO Dana White, at the UFC 302 press conference last week, White felt that Jon Jones, whom he considers the greatest mixed martial artist ever, deserves to be the P4P king. The UFC CEO went as far as to say that if Jon Jones was not one’s P4P #1 fighter, they should not even be involved in any kind of rankings in the UFC. This, predictably, has incensed Islam Makhachev, who too to Instagram recently to give a fitting rejoinder.

Islam Makhachev contrasts his recent fights with Jon Jones in response to Dana White

Islam Makhachev is coming off of a win over Dustin Poirier, the first actual lightweight he faced since becoming the 155-pound king in 2022. One of the more active champions in the UFC, the lightweight champ has fought eight times since 2021, emerging victorious in all of them.

Jon Jones, on the other hand, last fought Ciryl Gane in March 2023, and defeated the Frenchman to capture the vacant heavyweight title in his very first bout at heavyweight. Prior to that, the New Mexico native had earned his GOAT spurs at the light heavyweight division, where he had reigned supreme for around a decade. Until 2020, that is. That year, Jones decided to move up to heavyweight to become a two-division champion and add to his already historically great legacy. This took three years, since Jones wanted to move up ‘the right way’, resulting in him being entirely inactive between 2020 and 2023.

In a clear response to Dana White for denying his p4p #1 credentials, Makhachev recently took to his Instagram Story. He posted a side-by-side comparison of his fights compared to Jones’ since 2021, during which time he has fought (and defeated) eight opponents, including the likes of Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira. He listed all eight fights, as well as the result of the fight.

In sharp contrast, under Jones’ column, there was just one name- Ciryl Gane with the word ‘SORRY’ below it, in a sly dig at the GOAT contender. By this, the Dagestani champ was drawing attention to the fact that Jones has not fought in three years, and thus does not deserve to be adjudged the best male fighter in the UFC, period. Inactivity, of course, is one of the criteria that affect a fighter’s pound-for-pound (and divisional) rankings. And contrary to White’s desire, the rankings are unlikely to improve in Jones’ favor with his next fight either.

Jones vs. Miocic unlikely to move the needle on P4P rankings for ‘Bones’

Jon Jones is gearing up to face former champion and Dana White’s pick for the heavyweight GOAT, Stipe Miocic sometime this year.

However, even a dominant win over him is unlikely to to do much good for ‘Bones’s P4P rankings. Miocic after all is 41. The former champ last fought three years ago, a rematch with Francis Ngannou, which saw him get slept in the second round. The division has moved on since then and most agree that the Ohio native’s best days are behind him.

Makhachev, on the other hand, will rematch Arman Tsarukyan, whom he has fought and defeated once before: on the Armenian’s UFC debut five years ago. The 27-year-old has come a long way since then, having flattened the #4 ranked Beneil Dariush in 64 seconds last year and coming fresh off a UFC 300 victory over the UFC’s greatest-ever finisher, Charles Oliveira. One of the most promising young prospects in the stacked UFC lightweight division, Tsarukyan looks on the cusp of breaking out and possibly becoming champion, in sharp contrast to Miocic, whose time as a fighter seems to be coming to a close.

The qualitative difference between Jones and Makhachev’s next opponents is sharp and apparent. And that is why Jones is unlikely to pip the Dagestani as the P4P king of the UFC even if he wins his next fight