As long as Jon Jones remains in the sport, the pound-for-pound GOAT debate refuses to die. The MMA community is split down the middle, torn between Jones’ undeniable legacy and Islam Makhachev’s current dominance. While the UFC seems to be steering the spotlight toward Makhachev, many argue that Jones’ unparalleled career still reigns supreme. Adding fuel to the fire, actor and martial artist Michael Jai White has stepped in, voicing his support for Jones amidst the divide.

While having a conversation with ‘Vlad TV,’ the host reminded Michael Jai White that Islam Makhachev stands at the top of the P4P debate ahead of Jon Jones, the actor couldn’t believe what he just heard with a shocking expression he said, “Wait a second what do you minute are you saying. Oh, wait… that’s—that’s stupid.” 

The host reminded Michael Jai White that these are the official rankings from the UFC website. In response, the actor stated that he doesn’t care about the website ranking him lower because, in reality, Jon Jones should stand at the top of the debate. “I don’t give a f—, John. It’s got to be Jon Jones—that’s just ridiculous.”

He further added, “Of course, he should be number one! He should be number one over Islam, of course. Jon’s had more title defenses than Islam’s had fights, right? maybe that’s a popularity thing? What? No, come on—Jon Jones is number one across the board. I don’t know how stupidly I forgot to say that, but come on”

Despite the UFC ranking Islam Makhachev as the P4P king, Dana White refused to acknowledge that until the lightweight champion defeated Renato Moicano at UFC 311. Talking to the media at the presser, the UFC CEO agreed that Makhachev deserves the number one rank, “Yeah, I’ll give it to him,” White said when asked if he believes Makhachev is the P4P number one during his post-fight press conference. “Are you happy? Is everybody happy now?”

He further added, “Islam was willing to fight anybody, he stayed active, and he went out tonight and performed. Don’t be dead—. I just admitted I’m giving it to [Makhachev], he’s the pound-for-pound.” Well, Dana White might have agreed to the fact that Islam Makhachev stands at the top. However, according to Ilia Topuria, Jon Jones remains absolute.

Ilia Topuria backs Jon Jones against Islam Makhachev debate

According to former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, neither Khabib Nurmagomedov nor Islam Makhachev deserves to be at the top of the MMA GOAT debate as long as Jon Jones is in the conversation. Emphasizing that Jones has defended his title more times than both fighters’ total bouts under the UFC banner, Topuria argued that Jones stands above the rest due to his consistency.

“The first one has to be Jon Jones. You have to give the credit to that man. Because, to me, it’s too fun when I see people comparing him with the Dagestani guys — even with Khabib [Nurmagomedov], with Islam [Makhachev], or that. All due respect to all the champions, but, for example: Khabib, he has how many, 14, 15 fights in the UFC? Jon Jones has 15 title defenses. Exactly … I don’t know. For me, [Jones] is the number one,” said Topuria.

Well, Ilia Topuria has been beefing up with Team Khabib and he has been going against everything they do. Nevertheless, it won’t be wrong to state that his analogy about Jon Jones stands correct. Given that, what are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your opinion in the comments below.