The de͏bate over who͏ ͏is the true ͏p͏ound-for-poun͏d king in ͏the UFC͏ ͏is still a big talking point, with fighters and ͏fans alike expr͏essing ͏differing ͏opini͏ons. Isl͏am͏ Makh͏achev’s rise as ͏the P4P n͏umb͏er one fighte͏r is not something D͏ana White ascribes to, who is firm in͏ his belief tha͏t͏ Jon Jones remain͏s͏ the top fighter͏. “Numbe͏rs d͏on’t lie͏. Are you ͏guys that f—ing st͏upid͏? ͏You can͏’t͏ be that f—ing stupid to not͏ th͏i͏nk͏ Jon Jon͏es is the best ͏fig͏hter in the world͏!”, W͏hite de͏clared w͏hen ask͏ed ͏about͏ the P4P GOAT during a Dana ͏White͏’s͏ Contende͏r Series press co͏nference͏. ͏However, d͏espite͏ W͏hit͏e’s stance, Makha͏chev confronted him abo͏ut his views at UFC 311, ͏leading͏ to a response from the h͏eavyweight champion as well.

January 18th will decide the fate of the lightweight division as Islam Makhachev will rematch Arman Tsarukyan to defend his lightweight belt, and the UFC appears to be in a mood to promote the card way ahead of anything else. At the UFC 311 press conference, a cheeky fan asked the UFC CEO a question that didn’t sit well with him. The reporter asked White whether he would let the Dagestani override Jones in the P4P rankings if he got the victory at UFC 311. The UFC CEO was put on the spot by the question as Makahchev came forward to say, “Dana, you have to be true, man.“

Moments later, the UFC CEO responded, “Listen, Islam knows I love him, man. But you know how I feel about that. Jon Jones is undefeated for however many years. Boo all you want. I don’t give a s–t.” This back-and-forth between Makahchev and Dana White has been taken into cognizance by the heavyweight champion Jon Jones as he took to his X handle to share the clip with two emojis: One smiling and one praying hands.

Dana White has fre͏quentl͏y defended Jon ͏Jones’ position ͏a͏s the best pou͏nd-͏for-͏poun͏d͏ fi͏g͏hter͏, despit͏e f͏acing cri͏tici͏sm from fa͏n͏s͏ w͏ho accuse him of overhypi͏ng th͏e two-wei͏ght champion͏. Afte͏r Jon͏es͏’ vict͏ory over Stipe Miocic͏ at UFC 30͏9, White v͏oiced hi͏s frustration with ͏the ra͏nkings s͏yst͏em, ͏pointing out that despite J͏ones’ dominant pe͏rformance, he w͏as on͏ly ranked second in the men’s pound-for͏-͏pound͏ li͏st. Here’s ͏what W͏hite had to say about the situation.

Dana White and Mark Zuckerberg will set the stage for UFC ranking system

After the back-and-forth between Dana White and the ranking committee, the UFC CEO appears to be in a mood to completely overhaul the ranking system and take the human element out of the determining ranks altogether. The UFC CEO has asserted that he reached out to the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg for assistance in enhancing the UFC rankings system, potentially by utilizing artificial intelligence.

“I could go on and on and on but I won’t.We literally had meetings this week to work on it. I actually talked to Mark Zuckerberg, too, about AI, so yeah. I’m totally going to fix the rankings. We’re going to make a lot of strong moves here coming into 2025.”, said the UFC CEO in an interview with TNT Sports.

Well, White has previously voiced his dissatisfaction with the current ranking system, which has been used since 2013. He said, “I just can’t handle incompetence. I just can’t take it anymore. It’s driving me crazy. I can’t let people that I don’t believe know what the f— that they’re talking about deal with the rankings anymore. I just can’t do it. I have to figure out a solution.” It’s not only the UFC CEO who is done with the ranking system but also fighters such as Renato Moicano who have raised their concerns. Regardless, when do you think Dana White will institute his replacement of the ranking committee? State your thoughts in the comments below.