Islam Makhachev reacts to Dana White snubbing him as the P4P greatest fighter in favor of Jon Jones
Islam Makhachev recently discussed his feelings about Dana White passing him over as the best P4P fighter in favor of Jon Jones following UFC 302, which marked his third successful title defense. The sixth pay-per-view event of the year took place on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Makhachev is currently on a 14-fight winning streak and is regarded as one of the best lightweight champions in the promotion's history. The last three fighters to face Makhachev were Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira.
All three were previously ranked in the top 10 of the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. Following Dagestani's fifth-round submission win against Poirier at the UFC 302 event, White discussed Makhachev.
The UFC CEO is pleased with Makhachev's achievements, but he believes that the top slot for pound-for-pound should go to 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."
Check out Dana White's comments below:
When asked about White's thoughts during the post-fight press conference, Makhachev claimed to have rescued the UFC 302 event. He made a point that his fight with Poirier saved the evening and that the other fights were boring.
''I don’t know, maybe it’s just his opinion, but I think I saved this card today because all of these fights [were] boring; all of the arena almost [went to] sleep. We showed with Dustin a great performance.''
Check out Islam Makhachev's comments below:
When Islam Makhachev called out Jon Jones amidst UFC P4P rankings before UFC 294
Islam Makhachev criticized Jon Jones for not being a true champion and expressed his displeasure with the UFC P4P rankings. A reporter questioned him about his fight against Alexander Volkanovski at a press conference held ahead of UFC 294 after he was brought in as a last-minute substitute for Charles Oliveira.
In response, the reigning lightweight champion declared himself to be a "real champion", saying:
''You know, this is what UFC champion have to do. If you're a real champion you have to take fight, doesn't matter how many days, who it's gonna be. Not like your pound-for-pound champion (Jon Jones) when they give him Chael Sonnen. If you're a real champion you have to fight. They put him number one, the number one guy right now, who he beat last five fights?"
Check out Islam Makhachev's comments below: