Dana White famously said, “You throw Jon Jones in a room with anybody, Jon Jones walks out of the room.” The statement has since garnered a legendary status in the MMA landscape. White’s love for ‘Bones’ and his accomplishments inside the Octagon is second to none as the UFC CEO hails the heavyweight champion as the greatest of all time. The 55-year-old recently sat down for an interview where he was given the tasks to build what he believed is the ‘perfect fighter’ for him. Without skipping a beat, White chose Jones in most aspects, drawing a reaction from the champ himself.

Claiming that he might get a bit of backlash for his pick, Dana White believes that Jones has got the chin, the wrestling, and the best striking than any other fighter he’s ever employed in the UFC. However, ‘Bones’ does lose in one aspect, and that’s the personality part. The 55-year-old believes that there hasn’t been any personality quite like Conor McGregor, not only in his promotion but also in the entire sport of MMA, which was justified.

Jon Jones didn’t seem too bummed about losing out on that one aspect to Conor McGregor as he thanked the boss and commented on Instagram. ‘Bones’ wrote, “Isn’t he the best? [hugging emoji].” It’s no surprise that Jones seems to have a soft spot for Dana White, given that the CEO never stops singing his praises whenever the best-ever debate comes to the fore.

This isn’t the first time Dana White has shared what he thinks is his perfect fighter. About five years ago, he did the same in another interview, but you would be surprised to know that Jon Jones was not even in the conversation. Let’s see what the boss of the world’s premier MMA organization had to say.

Dana White’s previous ‘perfect fighter’ wasn’t Jon Jones

Yes, Jon Jones didn’t get the nod back in 2019 when ESPN asked Dana White to build his perfect fighter. So who was it then? Well, although White’s pick is a legendary fighter, one of the unquestionable greats, to be exact, he doesn’t necessarily see him eye to eye anymore. We’re talking about Anderson Silva, who White claimed to have been the most dangerous force in MMA during his prime and even deemed him the ‘G.O.A.T.’

“Anderson Silva, in his prime, was probably the perfect fighter. I mean, if you look at what Anderson was able to do against all kinds of different fighters,” Dana White told ESPN. “Anderson Silva when you think about it in his prime that’s why he’s looked at as the G.O.A.T… he was doing things to people that nobody else could do at that time.” Unfortunately, fans never got to witness the big-time matchups between two greats – Jon Jones and Anderson Silva – ever inside the Octagon because both of them publicly refused to take on each other.

While Jon Jones never got to fight the Brazilian G.O.A.T., he does have a chance to add a win over another G.O.A.T. in the form of Stipe Miocic. They’re nearing their fight with just over a couple of weeks left for UFC 309. Do you think Jones will live up to Dana White’s claim about him being the best fighter ever? Drop your comments below.