At the UFC 302 post-fight press conference, Dana White sent a shockwave through the world of mixed martial arts when he revealed his thoughts on Islam Makhachev being at the pinnacle of the pound-for-pound rankings. Despite winning against Dustin Poirier with great finesse, the UFC CEO seemed to believe that Jon Jones was the true P4P #1. However, Makhachev has now found a supporter.

In his recent interview with ‘Red Corner MMA’, Javier Mendez backed the UFC lightweight champion. He believed that Makhachev deserved to sit on the pound-for-pound throne, given his struggle and the type of performance he showcased in his fights. Let’s see what the AKA coach said.

Islam Makhachev finds a supporter in his coach

While talking to the ‘Red Corner MMA’, Mendez was asked about what Khabib Nurmagomedov said to his protege behind closed doors, following his final round victory via a D’arce choke. The founder and coach of American Kickboxing Academy admitted that he wasn’t present when ‘The Eagle’ talked to Makhachev. However, he didn’t back away from making assumptions.

Mendez said, “Well, I wasn’t there when Khabib talked to Islam after the fight. So, I’m assuming he told him that was a great fight. You, you know. ‘You have to go through adversity to win this fight, and I’m very proud of you, brother,’ you know. Now you learn from this. You get a lot of knowledge from this type of fight. And that’s exactly what Islam got. He got a lot of knowledge from this fight.” 

The AKA coach claimed that Makhachev proved himself as a real champion and he was greatly impressed with Makhachev’s performance at UFC 302. Even though White was against the idea of Makhachev leading the P4P rankings, Mendez stood in support of Makhachev. Makhachev is the star who would take the team to even greater heights, right?

“And he proved, he proved that he’s the real champion, and in my opinion, he is pound-for-pound, because he went through adversity, he conquered adversity. Not one time did he falter. Not one time did he think that he wasn’t in the game. He was always pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing,” said the AKA founder.

Makhachev has successfully defended his belt thrice and is planning to move up to the welterweight category. The cherry on top is his 14-fight win streak that has kept the entirety of the MMA community in awe. Despite his accolades, White sided with another fighter. But are you wondering why the UFC head honcho believed that Jon Jones should be the one at the top of the P4P list? Let’s find out what he said at the UFC 302 post-fight press conference. 

Why does Dana White think Jon Jones should be P4P #1?

In the press conference following the phenomenal title fight at UFC 302, a reporter reminded Dana White of Joe Rogan’s verdict on Makhachev being the “perfect lightweight”. However, the UFC CEO was not happy with it. He claimed that ‘Bones’ was a fighter with better records, and this belief resonates with many in the fighting community.

Surprisingly, Makhachev now has a winning streak of 14 fights while ‘Bones’ is stuck at 13. Jones had no defeats in his UFC career and dominated his opponents with great fighting prowess. And he certainly has significantly more title fight victories than Makhachev.

Talking about the pound-for-pound rankings, White claimed that whoever put Makhachev on the top of the list, while Jones was still fighting should simply give up on ranking anything. For anybody to call Islam Makhachev the pound for pound best fighter in the world with Jon Jones is still f***ing fighting is nuts. Shouldn’t be ranking in the pound for pound or doing any rankings ever,” he said. 

Makhachev now needs just one more successful title defense to break some records. If you guessed Nurmagomedov’s record, congratulations! Nurmagomedov’s prodigy will surpass him in the number of title defenses if defends his title just one more time. With his fighting prowess, it’s not going to be tough for the Dagestani. Maybe then, Dana White might consider him as the true P4P #1.

What are your thoughts on Mendez’s words? Do you think Jones should be the king of P4P? Let us know in the comments down below.