Former UFC referee fact-checks Jon Jones' enthusiastic reaction to Dana White's high praise

A former UFC referee has seemingly fact-checked Jon Jones. A former UFC light heavyweight champion and the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, Jones received words of high praise from UFC CEO Dana White earlier tonight (June 1, 2024). 'Bones' issued a passionate response to the same, and the ex-referee chimed in to point out an error in Jones' aforementioned response.

The star-studded UFC 302 event was headlined by a UFC lightweight title match between reigning titlist Islam Makhachev and challenger Dustin Poirier. Dagestan's Makhachev defeated his veteran American foe via fifth-round submission, thereby notching his third successful UFC lightweight title defense.

Presently, Makhachev holds the No. 1 spot in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings, whereas heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones stands at the No. 2 position. During the UFC 302 post-fight press conference, Dana White discussed the pound-for-pound rankings. White suggested that Makhachev is one of the greatest ever, but he surely mustn't be ranked ahead of Jones on the pound-for-pound list.

White indicated that till Jones is actively competing, he should be considered as the world's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. The UFC boss has made similar statements in the past. He implied that the virtually undefeated 'Bones' fought the toughest fighters at light heavyweight and then dominantly won the heavyweight title too.

Watch White's assessment below:

In a tweet, Jon Jones expressed his gratitude for the UFC boss' compliments. However, Jones erroneously suggested that White had been involved with the UFC organization since UFC 1. He tweeted:

"It felt awesome to get that level of recognition from the boss, the man that's literally been here since UFC 1. I know the haters are not gonna like his comments but Dana's a pretty hard person to argue with. @danawhite has had a front row seat to my entire career, facts are facts"

The UFC's first event took place in Nov. 1993, and White took over the reins as the company's president in 2001 when his friends, the Fertitta brothers, bought the UFC. Besides, White was promoted to UFC CEO in 2023.

Former MMA referee and current Bellator MMA commentator, John McCarthy, reacted to Jones' tweet by pointing out that White's involvement started at UFC 30 (Feb. 23, 2001). McCarthy tweeted:

"Sorry Jon, but the fact is Dana was not there since UFC 1. Dana started at UFC 30...... 7 years later"

---

Dana White on Jon Jones' long-awaited next fight

Jon Jones was afflicted by a pectoral injury in late 2023 and had elbow surgery as well. Jones hasn't competed since winning the heavyweight belt in March 2023. Regardless, he's expected to defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic this year.

The consensus is that the long-awaited showdown between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic could take place at the UFC's annual pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden in November. Jones himself had hinted at it.

During the UFC St. Louis post-fight press conference on May 11, 2024, Dana White shot down the rumors of Jones possibly defending his title in a super-fight against UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. He clarified that Jones was simply asking for people's opinions about who they'd like to see him face, adding that 'Bones' knows he's going to fight Miocic next. White said:

"Yeah. It's Stipe."

Check out White's comments below (4:05):