Dana White breaks silence on overturning Jon Jones' loss after 12-6 elbow ban lift: "We had an incompetent referee"

Dana White thinks Jon Jones' disqualification loss to Matt Hamill should have been overturned long before the ban on 12-6 elbows was lifted. Jones is widely regarded as one of the greatest combat sports athletes. The sole defeat of his career came against Hamill in December 2009 for throwing 12-to-6 elbows in a fight that he was dominating.

Recently, the Association of Boxing Commissions lifted the ban on 12-to-6 elbow strikes. The rule has been a controversial topic in the sport as every other angle of the elbow is deemed legal except for the 12-to-6 or straight up and down elbow. The new rules will come into effect from Nov. 1.

White, who has been trying to overturn Jones' loss for over a decade, shared his thoughts on the matter during the UFC 304 post-fight press conference. While holding the Nevada State Athletic Commission and controversial referee Steve Mazzagatti responsible for Jones' defeat, White said:

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"I've been trying to do that since it happened. I think I wanted it more than he did. So, it hasn't worked out too well though. I've been fighting for that for a long time. We had an incompetent referee... A guy who, we can all agree now, maybe I sounded like an a**hole back in the day, but now we can all look back and a hundred percent say that the guy was completely incompetent."

He added:

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"[The fight happened] At a time when Nevada State Athletic Commission was at its weakest, the guy who was running it was a zero. Mazzagatti should've never been in there and the list goes on and on... and that [DQ loss of Jones] should've been and should be overturned. I've been fighting for it for years."

Check out Dana White's comments below:

Jones also shared his thoughts on the rule change in an Instagram post a few days ago and urged White to get the result overturned.

After a long title reign in the light heavyweight division, Jones moved up in weight and captured the heavyweight crown by defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. He is currently on the sidelines due to a pectoral tear that caused his fight with Stipe Miocic to get canceled.

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