Dana White still wouldn't crown Islam Makhachev the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world

UFC CEO Dana White thinks Islam Makhachev should not be at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings. Makhachev is considered among the greatest lightweight champions in the promotion's history and is currently on a 14-fight win streak. The only loss of his professional MMA career came in 2015 when Adriano Martins knocked him out in his second UFC appearance.

All three of Makhachev's most recent opponents – Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, and Dustin Poirier – have held a spot in the top 10 of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings in the recent past. Following the Dagestani's fifth-round submission win over Poirier at the recent UFC 302 event, White shared his thoughts on Makhachev.

While the UFC CEO is impressed with Makhachev's accomplishments, he thinks the pound-for-pound No.1 spot should be reserved for someone else:

"[Islam Makhachev's] none of the greatest of all time. I think he is incredible. I don't think he is pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. For anybody to call Islam the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world when Jon Jones is still f***ing fighting, it's nuts! [The person in charge] shouldn't be ranking the pound-for-pound or doing any of the f***ing rankings ever, if that's what you really think."

Speaking further, White explained the reasons behind his argument that Jon Jones should still be the pound-for-pound No.1-ranked fighter:

"Jon Jones has never lost a fight, ever. He has fought all the baddest dudes in the world. Now when you think about what pound-for-pound rankings really mean, he moved up to heavyweight and destroyed the best guy in the world. As long as Jon Jones is still fighting actively and is in the rankings, yeah, nobody is pound-for-pound best fighter in the world."

Check out Dana White's comments below:

Many consider Jones the greatest combat sports athlete in history. After dominating the light heavyweight division for almost a decade, Jones captured the heavyweight title in 2023. While he currently occupies the No.2 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings, many fans have questioned the position given his inactivity in recent years.

Jones is currently recovering from a pectoral injury that forced him to pull out of his UFC 295 fight against Stipe Miocic. He is expected to return to competition in November. However, his reluctance to fight interim champion Tom Aspinall has resulted in a huge backlash from fans.

Meanwhile, Makhachev is on his way to greatness as he is one win away from becoming the first champion in the 155-pound division's history to score four consecutive title defenses. He is already the fighter with the longest win streak in UFC lightweight history (14) and has spoken about challenging for the welterweight title in the near future.