Dana White’s Resurfaced Confession on Jon Jones & Khabib Explains His One-Sided Take on UFC GOAT

The year 2024 was a stellar year for Dana White and Co. From the blockbuster fight of UFC 300 to the amazing spectacle at UFC 306 at the Las Vegas Sphere, the promotion made big bucks last year. On top of that, the MMA community got some of the best fights that kept them at the edge of their seats. However, amid all this excitement one thing has remained constant – Dana White’s choice for the UFC (or MMA) GOAT.

Let’ see a throwback video for the evidence where he declared Jon Jones as the GOAT. Not much has changed since then even though fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov existed in the sport and retired undefeated at the top.

Throwback-Dana White is adamant that Jon Jones is the GOAT

Roughly, 10 months ago, the UFC head honcho decided to talk to the hosts of Games with Names and declared his stance on the UFC GOAT. Everyone knows that Khabib Nurmagomedov made a huge mark on the promotion by being the undefeated winner of 29 fights and a Hall of Famer. Now he is training his team from Dagestan who are winning fights to realize “father’s plan”. But when it comes to the debate of who is the GOAT, Dana White can only see Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.

He said, “The greatest of all time is Jon Jones. Jon Jones is undefeated. Khabib was undefeated too but I would’ve liked to have seen them do more. Jon Jones has been around forever. He has fought everybody in the light heavyweight division. Now he’s in the heavyweight division beating guys.”

White even gave the example of Muhammad Ali who had taken three years off and came back. He had refused to be drafted into the US Army during the Vietnam War in 1967. The consequences were harsh as he was stripped of his boxing titles and barred from the ring for 3 years. But ‘The Greatest’ proved why he deserved the moniker and won his fight against Jerry Quarry in his 1970 comeback.

White compared that hiatus to Jon Jones’ three-year voluntary gap in 2020, before coming back in 2023 against Ciryl Gane.  The boss declared, “Jon Jones went in and he made Ciryl Gane look like he’d never fought in his life. And he has never been beaten, never been beaten. He doesn’t know what losing feels like. He has never lost think of that. Jones is the greatest ever.”

However, there are many fighters who have entered the GOAT debate since 2024 ended and this might have Dana White reconsider his stance later on. On that note let’s see who all have the potential to be in Dana White’s GOAT Mount Rushmore.

Prospective GOATS of UFC in the coming year

From Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria, many fighters have shown what they can do inside the Octagon, being phenomenal A-tier fighters.  Among these fighters, three champs entered the GOAT debate. Without a doubt, the biggest star in the division right now is Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira who became the buzz of the UFC world as he defended the light heavyweight belt three times in a row.

Does this feat make him a GOAT? Well, Daniel Cormier – former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion of the world – thinks so. “If Alex can be a guy that wins a third belt, that dude better be in the conversation as greatest of all time,” Cormier told MMA Junkie recently. “And hell, he’s only done it – he’s only got like 11 fights in his entire career [he has 12].”

On the other hand, we have Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev who have proved their prowess more than once. Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, are the two names within the featherweight division that have been feared by fighters for years but both fell at the hands of Ilia Topuria. The Spaniard punched through them like a storm defeating both, even giving Holloway his first KO loss. Then comes the lightweight boogeyman Makhachev who has been a champ since 2022 and defended his belt against legendary fighters like Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier.

Bantamweight phenom Sean O’Malley chose Makahchev as the GOAT.  “I think Jon’s fought once in the last 4-5 years. Jon Jones is up there for greatest of all time, but right now who’s the greatest… I think it’s Islam,” said O’Malley while having a conversation with the media. So with all these names in the mix, do you think Dana White might change his mind about the GOAT choice?