At UFC 302, Islam Makhachev vanquished Dustin Poirier to remain the king of the lightweight division and took his winning streak to 14, but is that enough for him to be declared the P4P (pound-for-pound) best fighter in the world? Not according to UFC CEO Dana White! The fight was the third title defense for Makhachev, who has now tied his mentor and friend, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s record with a win over Poirier on the night.

In his trademark manner, during the post-fight press conference, the UFC boss lauded the Dagestani champion for his performance. But he indicated that even though Makhachev is an “incredible” fighter, he still doesn’t measure up to Jon Jones’s achievements inside the Octagon. This led to a frenzy in the MMA world and even drew a response from Makhachev, and it appears that the latest ranking update hasn’t aligned with the White’s claims either!

Islam Makhachev retains his no.1 spot atop the P4P rankings amidst Dana White’s rejection

At the UFC 302 post-fight press conference, Dana White praised Islam Makhachev and claimed that he is, “…one of the greatest of all-time”. Despite the praise, White went on to further state that he firmly believes that as long as Jon Jones is active, Makhachev can only claim the No. 2 spot as the P4P best fighter in the world and used ‘Bones’s remarkable UFC record as proof of his claims.

White stated, “For anyone to call Islam the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world when Jon Jones is still f*cking fighting is nuts and shouldn’t be ranking in the pound-for-pound, or doing any of the f*cking rankings ever, if that’s what you really think.”

The UFC head honcho emphasized that Jones hasn’t “lost a fight, ever” and that his move up to heavyweight and securing the title at a higher weight class reaffirms his claim towards being the “…pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world.” 

However, according to the UFC’s latest ranking update, shared on X by John Morgan, Islam Makhachev has remained at the no.1 spot with Jon Jones coming in behind him at no. 2. Dustin Poirier, who hinted at thinking about retirement after coming up short in his quest for the undisputed title yet again, still remains at the no. 4 spot in the 155 lbs division.

Jon Jones also responded to the praise by Dana White on X, stating, “I know the haters are not gonna like his comments but Dana’s a pretty hard person to argue with. Dana White has had a front row seat to my entire career, facts are facts.”

As the debate over the pound-for-pound best continues, Makhachev’s dominance and Jones’s legacy ensure the discussion remains as fierce as ever. Moreover, the Dagestani champion had an interesting response to being snubbed for the P4P no. 1 honor by his boss!

Makhachev fires back at Dana White over P4P debate

With his dominance over the UFC lightweight division showing no signs of slowing down, Islam Makhachev took the time at the UFC 302 post-fight press conference to fire back at Dana White’s claims about him not measuring up to Jon Jones’s achievements as the P4P no. 1 fighter in the UFC.

Makhachev stated, “I don’t know, maybe it’s just his opinion but I think I saved this card today because all of these fights [were] boring; all of the arena almost [went to] sleep.”

Securing ‘Performance of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses for the fight also add more weight to his response. As such, while White and Jones stand by their perspectives, Makhachev’s remarkable performance and response demonstrate his determination to stake his claim as one of the sport’s elite fighters. With his claims of wanting to pursue a second title, it appears that he is determined to leave no doubts about being the P4P no.1 fighter in anyone’s minds!

Do you think Dana White is right about Islam Makhachev’s P4P status when compared to Jon Jones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!