Dana White has made his stance on the P4P rankings very clear, Jon Jones is the best combat sports athlete on the planet. White’s reasoning for it is the sheer dominance that the current UFC heavyweight champion has shown. And he doesn’t care that he gets ridiculed for this every single day on the internet.
Right now, Islam Makhachev sits on the top of the pound for pound list, followed closely by Alex Pereira and Jones comes in third, owing to his inactivity in the octagon.
Makhachev has fought more times in the last 2 years than Jones has and he has not lost at all. Pereira in the same time, has become a champion in two different weight classes.
However, White remains steadfast in his belief that nobody holds a candle to the greatness of the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. Speaking to Pat McAfee, he has called everyone on the internet stupid for contradicting his opinion.
“Everybody on the internet’s stupid. Anybody who thinks Jon Jones isn’t the pound for pound best fighter in the world should NEVER be discussing fighting EVER.”
Dana White has a message for the internet regarding the Jon Jones #1 pound-for-pound conversation:
“Everybody on the internet’s stupid.
Anybody who thinks Jon Jones isn’t the pound for pound best fighter in the world should NEVER be discussing fighting EVER.”
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 13, 2024
Now, although there are some facts to what he’s saying, UFC fans don’t think any fighter with 2 fights under his belt in 4 years should be anywhere close to the top of that list.
But what is the P4P list and why are there so many controversies around it all the time?
What is Pound for Pound?
Well, to put it in layman terms, it’s fantasy football. That’s the idea at least. What it means is that how a fighter’s skills would fare in different weight classes. And even fighters often fight it ridiculous.
Does Demetrious Johnson defeat Brock Lesnar if both of them were in the same weight class? How does one even begin to answer that question?
Even interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall believes it is ridiculous list and it is ridiculous! MMA math is simply the most inaccurate form of arithmetic to have ever been invented. There’s no way to judge how a fighter’s skills and attributes would translate to other divisions.
It already extremely subjective even within the same weight class. For instance, Dustin Poirier defeated Max Holloway to win the interim lightweight championship at one point in time. He then lost to Justin Gaethje, who later lost to Holloway in spectacular fashion.
So who’s the better fighter of three? Each of their fan groups will have a different answer to this and that is why P4P is best suited for social media fights between fan groups.
