Earlier this month, the UFC CEO Dana White left Jones off the “one-and-done” UFC White House card, even though ex ufc champ confirmed that he was negotiating with the promotion. Instead, the UFC scheduled Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for an interim heavyweight bout, effectively pushing Jones to the sidelines. As a result, ‘Bones’ expressed his anger on social media; however, despite the backlash, White once again grabbed attention with a bold comparison involving Jones and a boxing legend.

In combat sports, fantasy matchups have no limits. For instance, fans regularly debate scenarios that bring together heavyweight greats from boxing and MMA, including Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Jon Jones, and Francis Ngannou, in the same room, asking who would come out on top. These debates continue to spark discussions across social media, with fans sharing different opinions. Now, Dana White has shared his own take on a fantasy matchup between prime Ali and Jones.

“One of the things that happened in boxing is you had all of these different sanctioning organisations that all had different champions and different guys,” he explained on Verdict with Ted Cruz. “All anyone wanted to do was stay undefeated. So they would fight lesser competition to make sure that they got up to 25-0.

But in MMA, you went through the gauntlet, you fought the best of the best all the way to the top. So if you end up with a long career and you are still undefeated, you are the greatest of all time, and that is Jon Jones…Jon Jones would get inside, he would grab him, and he would just rip him apart, yes,” 

However, many fans see Dana White’s prediction as one-sided and heavily favoring the undefeated Jon Jones. While MMA more closely mirrors a street fight, allowing both striking and grappling, it still does not rule out Muhammad Ali.

After all, Ali did not stay undefeated, but he fought and beat some of the toughest opponents in boxing history, including Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Ken Norton. Moreover, Ali fought Antonio Inoki in a mixed-rules bout in 1976 called “The War of the Worlds.”

While the fighters agreed to the special rules restricting Inoki’s grappling, the Japanese wrestler was allowed to attack Ali with kicks while he was on the ground. After 15 rounds the officials judged the match a draw, becoming one of the most iconic crossover bouts in combat sports history.

With that said, the fantasy matchup between Muhammad Ali and Jon Jones continues to spark debate. While Ali was the boxing GOAT, Jones has neutralized elite strikers like Maurício Rua in his MMA career. However, Ali’s boxing skills cannot be compared to those of the opponents Jones faced in his career. This isn’t the first time the UFC CEO has compared Jones to boxing greats. Last year, White even labeled Jones the “nastiest” while drawing comparisons to Mike Tyson.

At the same time, Dana White continues to share a strained relationship with Jon Jones. The American MMA legend walked away without defending his title against then-interim champion Tom Aspinall, derailing the promotion’s plans despite White previously assuring fans the fight would happen “100%.”

Jones later decided to retire soon after facing criminal charges, as UFC crowned Aspinall the undisputed heavyweight champion in a bizarre scenario. In the aftermath, White left him off the proposed White House event after having trust issues with the former two-division champion. The move has since led Jones to publicly fire back at the UFC.

Jon Jones eyes UFC exit amid growing tension

“How f***ing painful” was one of the few deleted tweets from Jon Jones, as the former UFC heavyweight struggled to hide his disappointment after Dana White dismissed claims of any negotiations with Jones for the WHC. The promotion unveiled the six fights scheduled for the White House card, including top names such as Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje, Alex Pereira, and Ciryl Gane, alongside a mix of established veterans and rising contenders.

However, the promotion left Jones off the card, despite his interest in competing at the UFC’s White House event, also referred to as “Freedom 250,” which is set to celebrate America’s 250th Independence Day anniversary. After verbally agreeing to fight Alex Pereira at the WHC, given his status as one of the sport’s biggest American stars, Jones seemed like an obvious fit.

The event also presented a significant financial opportunity, especially after Jones publicly confirmed he was in negotiations with the UFC. Despite long being considered a favorite of White, the situation has clearly added to Jones’ frustration. With time ticking, he is now pushing for a release from the promotion.

“Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up,” Jones wrote on X. “My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for that fight. Real negotiations. I even came down from my original number, and what was I offered in return? I was lowballed.”

At present, the relationship between Jones and Dana White seems strained. With tensions running high, the big question remains whether Jones will find his way back to the UFC. What do you think? Share your opinion below.