Conor McGregor snubbed by Dana White as Jon Jones named GOAT by UFC chief

UFC President Dana White recently picked former light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, claiming that “there's no debate” when it comes to Bones' certified GOAT status. While talking to ESPN, Dana White said that Jon Jones has achieved greatness and holds the record of most UFC title defences (14), even though he didn’t dedicate himself properly to the craft. In fact, Dana White claimed that Jon Jones would have been even more successful if he wouldn’t have had attached himself with so many controversies in the past.

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By controversies, Dana White is referring to Jon Jones’ failed drug tests, alcohol issue, the hit-and-run incident and other run-ins with the law. Because of these incidents, many don’t include Jon Jones in the UFC GOAT talks, but it is worth to note that Bones has never been submitted and is yet to face a KO loss. His only loss on paper came in the Ultimate Fighter 10 finale where he was disqualified under the 12-6 elbow rule.

‘There's no debate, Jon Jones is the GOAT. Jon Jones is the greatest ever,” Dana White added.

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After Dana White hailed Jon Jones as the UFC GOAT, many fans criticised him for not picking fighters like Conor McGregor or Georges St-Pierre, who transcended the sport in one way or other. Both Conor McGregor and Georges St-Pierre are excellent candidates to be called UFC GOATs as Conor McGregor is the most profitable fighter in UFC’s history, while Georges St-Pierre is second on the list of all-time UFC title wins, boasting of a 13-0 championship record to Jon Jones' 14-0.

Apart from these two, the current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov could also join the GOAT list as he currently holds the record of biggest UFC winning streak 28-0 and is the man who bested Conor McGregor at UFC 229. The UFC 229 drew 2.4 million PPV buys, the most ever for an MMA event. As of August 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov is second in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, right next to Jon Jones. There are many other fighters like Anderson Silva, Daniel Cormier and others who could also join the list.

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What’s next for Jon Jones?

A few months ago, Jon Jones vacated his UFC light-heavyweight title and moved to the heavyweight division where he called out current champion Stipe Miocic. However, Dana White later made it clear that the champion would defend his title against Francis Ngannou next as The Predator has earned his title shot by defeating Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Jon Jones’ heavyweight debut opponent is yet to be confirmed.

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