Video: Dana White debates with reporters about UFC pound for pound, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

LAS VEGAS – CEO of the UFC [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has defended two issues vehemently over the past year, perhaps more than any other. The first is who is the best fighter at the moment, pound for pound. The second is that his answer to that question, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]who, in his opinion, should rightly fight [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] next.

Following Dana White's Contender Series 69 on Tuesday at UFC Apex, White engaged in a long, heated discussion with reporters.

The debate was respectful but passionate, with White engaging in verbal sparring with members of the media, particularly veteran reporters Kevin Iole and John Morgan.

Jones as pound-for-pound number 1

The 12-minute-plus exchange began as White was wrapping up his post-event press conference. He was jokingly asked about Jones' status as the “pound-for-pound GOAT.”

White has made this argument repeatedly over the past few weeks, and the frequency and enthusiasm with which he made it amused online commenters and meme creators.

Iole asked, “Does he have pictures of you?”, which was met with laughter.

“Are you guys that damn stupid?” White laughed back. “You can't be that damn stupid to think that Jon Jones isn't the best boxer in the world and the GOAT… but maybe you are?”

White stood up to leave, but then sat back down to participate. Another eleven minutes of discussion followed.

“Ask me a question,” White said. “Who is better than Jon Jones? Who is pound for pound better than Jon Jones?”

Morgan interjected, responding, “At what point does inactivity come into play, right? We all agree that there's nobody better than Jon Jones. He's the greatest of all time. There's no doubt about that. But when you look at the rankings, at some point it has to reflect what's happening in the organization at this moment, at this exact time, and for the last three years he's been putting up a fight.”

White's answer to that question revolved around the fact that the inactivity was not a choice, but an injury Jones (27-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) sustained weeks before a first date with Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) scheduled for November 2023. Jones had been out of action for three years when he returned in March 2023 to win heavyweight gold against Ciryl Gane, and he hasn't fought since. In the meantime, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has become interim heavyweight champion and was even able to defend this interim belt in a rare form against Curtis Blaydes in July at UFC 304.

“You talk about inactivity and the fact that he only fought once. Jon Jones should be fighting,” White said. “If Jon Jones was sitting on the couch and saying, 'I don't know when I'm going to fight again,' then he's definitely not in the pound-for-pound discussion right now. He should be fighting and he got hurt. He's an active fighter.”

White then mentioned Islam Makhachev, the fighter who many media and fans believe deserves the “pound for pound” designation. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) has defended the UFC lightweight title three times, but twice against then-featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and once the decision was hotly contested. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the UFC's official pound-for-pound rankings.

“A lot of people think Islam lost to the guy (Volkanovski) who is a weight class below him,” White said. “Is that how pound for pound works?”

Jones vs. Stipe

White and Iole then discussed the definition of “active” before the conversation turned to the caution between Jones and Miocic.

“Everyone in this room thinks Aspinall is rated higher than Stipe at this point,” Iole said. “Stipe's reputation is fantastic, but he hasn't won a fight since he beat (Daniel Cormier) — in four years. That also plays a role when you have a guy like Aspinall who knocks out Serghei Pavlovich in under a minute, Curtis Blaydes in under a minute, etc., etc.”

White said he did not disagree, but took a different stance, laying out an argument that centered around not wanting to disrespect Miocic, who missed the fight against Jones in late 2023 through no fault of his own.

“Here's the flip side of that,” White said. “What am I supposed to do? The guy who's considered the greatest heavyweight in the UFC, right? This fight is scheduled. Jon Jones gets hurt. It's not his fault. He has to wait and go back to training camp. He's been training. So am I supposed to just wrest control away from Stipe and say, 'Hey, go fuck yourself and sit on the sidelines for two more years'? If I did that, you'd be like, 'Oh, you fucking disrespected the greatest heavyweight of all time,' and the fucking fans too. So am I supposed to just fuck with Stipe because Jon got hurt and not schedule the fight he was supposed to have anyway?'”

Iole countered that Miocic should have fought Aspinall in Jones' absence instead of sitting around waiting for the champion.

“This is the fight that (Jones and Miocic) both want,” White said. “What do you do? You don't show the guys their respect. I guarantee you, if Stipe wins, he's going to quit. This will be Stipe's last fight. Are you going to tell me from the media to just tell Stipe to fuck off and (say), 'Good luck, Stipe. Ride off into the sunset and put out some fires and that's it for you, buddy,' because Jon got hurt? Or do I show this guy the respect that I should show him and give both of them the fight that they want? That's the position I'm in.”

Unsurprisingly, no agreement was reached. White smiled and once again proclaimed Jones' status as the best pound-for-pound fighter before leaving the table and being replaced by beaming UFC contract earner Malcolm Wellmaker.

What happens next?

Jones and Miocic are “targeted” to fight at UFC 309, an event on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York, White confirmed Tuesday. White said the lack of an official announcement from the promoter was due to the fact that the calendar was not yet filled by then.

Aspinall, the promotion's interim titleholder, defended his title in July at UFC 304 when he knocked out Curtis Blaydes. It's unclear what his next competitive step will be, although he has increased his calls for Jones in recent weeks and even created skit videos to prepare for the fight.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Dana White debates with reporters about UFC pound-for-pound, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic