It was only last week that Jon Jones was seen telling Alex Pereira and his coach, Plinio Cruz, how Dana White had “offended” him and was trying to undermine his legacy. But now, a social media post appears to suggest the two may have buried the hatchet.

In a recent Instagram story, the former UFC heavyweight champion shared an image of the two of them looking like best of chums, during UFC 329 fight week, pairing it with a message that caught many off guard.

“Changed my life, always a homie no matter what,” Jon Jones wrote in the caption.

In the image he shared, Jones had his arm over Dana White as the UFC CEO looked up at the camera smilingly. This is especially startling given their historically tense relationship and recent public fallout.

While their fallout over the UFC White House event negotiations is already pretty well documented, their recent tussle stemmed from Dana White publicly claiming that Alex Pereira would jump “over Jon Jones” and become “the greatest of all time,” if he manages to beat Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250.

While what the 56-year-old told Forbes just days before the big event on the South Lawn seemed reasonable at the time, given that Pereira was fighting for a third division title in the UFC, the statement rubbed Jon Jones the wrong way. And as fate would have it, Pereira lost the bout badly.

In response, Jones posted a silent clip of himself sporting a GOAT chain after Pereira’s second-round TKO loss to Ciryl Gane. It was Jones’ way of trolling his critics, particularly Dana White, and reasserting his legacy as the greatest of all time.

This was the reason why last week, when the former heavyweight champion was in Las Vegas to support his protege Gable Steveson in his UFC debut, and he ran into Alex Pereira and his team, the MMA great decided to apologize to the Brazilian for his cheap shot in the aftermath of his loss last month. Jones explained that those comments were the reason he mocked Pereira, insisting his frustration had been directed at White rather than the Brazilian.

“I want Alex to know that I have no disrespect for Poatan,” Jon Jones told Cruz as Pereira watched him closely. “Dana White was saying, ‘Hey, you know, he’s going to be the greatest fighter ever.’ I felt offended by Dana’s comments. I felt like Dana was trying to attack me. Somebody’s trying to take everything from you, and I was just like, oh, man. So, I meant no disrespect for Pereira.”

That exchange reportedly took place only a day before Jones and White were photographed together backstage at the UFC 329 ceremonial weigh-ins. So, given the complex and problematic history, the sudden change is rather surprising. It also must be why the switch-up bothered so many online once the images went viral online. And as is the case, the reactions were just as harsh.

Many fans joked that Jones and White’s relationship has become one of the UFC’s strangest ongoing storylines.

One user stated, “These 2 are like the toxic couples who breaks up and gets back together 12 times in a year lmao.” The number of times the two have quarrelled with each other publicly and then praised one another does make it seem like a toxic relationship that needs to end for good.

“Jon thought hard about whether to kill him or just smile and take a selfie,” another fan remarked on X. Given their past animosity, the linkup and public praise do demand a certain level of doubt. So in that sense, the reaction, though an obvious hyperbole, is understandable.

Back in February, when the White House card was officially unveiled, Jon Jones publicly blasted Dana White for keeping him on the hook with the negotiations for the card. He even revealed that he had been offered $15 million for the fight and was hoping for a bit more than that.

However, soon after, Dana White claimed that Jones was “never ever, ever” considered for the card and brushed off Jones’ statements as “bulls—.” This prompted another wave of angry reactions from Jon Jones, demanding that he be “released” from his UFC contract. Such has been back and forth over the last few months.

“Haters will say its AI,” suggested another fan. The strangeness of the linkup could invite reactions like, “It’s AI.” Hence, the effort from the fan to suggest that its not.

“We don’t want to see anything related to Jon Jones unless it’s a fight. This Diva requires too much attention,” one fan noted.

While he is widely regarded as one of the greatest to ever do it, according to UFC CEO Dana White, booking a fight for Jon Jones is incredibly difficult due to his extreme financial demands, past unreliability, and reluctance to fight dangerous contenders like Tom Aspinall. White has in the past expressed frustration, citing his history of declining or pulling out of high-profile bouts, complicating matchmaking. Despite this, he remains one of the most well-known combat stars in the world.

“Bro trynna get a fight again lmaooo,” remarked a user. Echoing the same thought, another wrote, “Bros tryna get another fight,” a fan noted.

Ever since his retirement last year, he has dedicated himself to training rising MMA prospect Gable Steveson. Even as recently as last week, he admitted that he wishes to see the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist succeed more than he wishes to see himself compete again.

Meanwhile, looking at the contrived smile of Dana White, a fan quipped, “Dana looks like a hostage here. 🤣” Echoing the same thought, another user noted, “Look like he forced Dana to take this pic.”

However, despite the harshness of the reactions online, Dana White himself was not as unkind.

Dana White talks about meeting Jon Jones during UFC 329 weigh-ins

While many UFC stars have feuded with Dana White over the years, some have a more complex relationship with the UFC CEO, the same way as Jon Jones does. Examples include Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, and Aljamain Sterling. In all these instances, the UFC CEO has praised the fighters, even calling some of them “the greatest,” yet they have also been labeled as being difficult or for having made things complicated by not doing things the way the promotion wants them to.

More recently, even the current UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, has found himself at odds with White over his comments about him in the aftermath of UFC 321 last year, when an eye poke from Ciryl Gane abruptly ended their title fight in the first round. They have yet to resolve their differences.

However, things were comparatively less heated when Jon Jones met Dana White during the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 329. Speaking about the interaction with the MMA GOAT during the post-fight presser, Dana White revealed that they didn’t exchange pleasantries despite things remaining cordial.

“He said, ‘Hey your best friend’s here,’ at the weigh-ins when I saw him,” Dana White told reporters. “That was the extent of our conversation.”

So that is where it stands at the moment. While the two aren’t at each other’s throats anymore, they aren’t exactly friends either. Maybe one day it will change. And then it would be just as surprising.