(autotag)Jon Jones(/autotag) is currently ranked No. 3 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, and for (autotag)Dana White(/autotag), that’s worth burning the world down for.

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is No. 1, and behind him is light heavyweight champion and former middleweight champion Alex Pereira. UFC CEO White has been beating the drum for Jones as No. 1 for some time, and he acknowledges that goes against his history of very public fights with the current heavyweight and former light heavyweight champion.

But White doesn’t care who people put at No. 2 or No. 3, as long as Jones is at the top of the list.

“Jon Jones is ranked No. 3 pound-for-pound in the (UFC),” White recently told combat sports writer Kevin Iole. “(It’s) the most f*cking ridiculous, embarrassing, stupid, f*cking-know-nothing-about-fighting ranking of all time.”

Much of the discussion surrounding Jones’ placement has been about his inactivity. He won the heavyweight title in March 2023, putting him on the short list of fighters who have belts in two UFC weight classes. He was scheduled to return in November 2023 but suffered a training injury. Jones is now expected to fight former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in November.

Miocic lost his heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021 and has been inactive since then. He is considered by many to be the best heavyweight in history thanks to his three consecutive UFC heavyweight title defenses and two championship reigns. However, if the November date does happen, it would be 44 months between fights — almost four years.

But Jones’ heavyweight title win over Ciryl Gane was his only bout since the start of 2020. Critics have questioned how someone who has fought just once in four-and-a-half years has become the No. 1 ranked fighter in the pound-for-pound category.

“Jon Jones is still an active fighter,” White said. “He beat Cyril Gane. He got hurt. He had to fight. He’ll fight again in November. Jon Jones is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, period. End of story. Whoever you want to call it, Islam, Pereira No. 2-3, they’re all good. The fact that there’s someone above Jon Jones right now shows you know absolutely nothing about combat sports and fighting.”

UFC’s rankings, including its pound-for-pound list, are voted on by members of the combat sports media from a panel selected by the UFC. MMA Junkie was asked to participate at the start of these rankings but declined. USA TODAY Sports and MMA Junkie have their own MMA rankings. Jones is also third on that list — but USAT/MMAJ’s rankings have Pereira at No. 1 and Makhachev at No. 2.

Tom Aspinall was given the interim heavyweight title after Jones was injured and his return timetable is now at least eight months away. He defended his interim belt with a quick finish over Curtis Blaydes a week ago and the general consensus is that he should fight Jones to unify the belts rather than wait for Jones and Miocic.

But White thinks things will get even more interesting if Aspinall emerges victorious.

“This title fight (with Jones and Miocic) was a long time coming. You know everything from injuries to everything,” White said. “There’s two sides to the coin. Everybody says, ‘Oh, Dana doesn’t respect this guy’ and ‘He doesn’t do this,’ ‘He doesn’t do that.’ I respect both of those guys — they want to fight each other. It’s a fight that they both want — a fight of total respect. I think they both deserve it. I get it: Everybody wants to see Tom Aspinall (against Jones). But I’ll tell you this: After Stipe and Jon fight, whoever wins, the Aspinall fight is going to be even bigger.”

But when all is said and done, White thinks that placing Jones below Pereira and Makhachev is a result of people attacking Jones as a person and not just looking at Jones the fighter. Outside of the cage, Jones has had numerous arrests, legal battles, positive drug tests and has been stripped of his 205-pound title by the UFC multiple times.

“Everything I’ve said, those are f*cking facts. Those are facts,” White said. “Me and Jon Jones don’t have the relationship that I have with Ronda (Rousey), Chuck Liddell, Conor (McGregor) and some of these guys that we’ve fought in the past that are incredible. We know that’s not the case. What I’ve said about Jon Jones is undeniable — what this guy has accomplished in his career is undeniable. If he beats Stipe and he goes out and fights Tom Aspinall and beats him … there’s no denying it. I don’t care how much you don’t like Jon Jones for what he’s done or said. This isn’t about who Jon Jones is personally and whether you like him or not. We’re talking about the baddest guy to ever walk the earth in combat sports. If he goes out and beats Tom Aspinall, he cements his legacy as the greatest fighter of all time.

“… The other thing about Jon Jones is, when you talk about inactivity, any fighter in the history of fighting, including the guy you call God and the guy I call God, Muhammad Ali, was never the same after a three-year layoff. And Muhammad Ali wasn’t doing bad things to himself like Jon Jones, and when Jon Jones came back, he looked even better.”

When looking at the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) conversations in MMA, Jones will likely always make a strong argument as the best. But most people look at a pound-for-pound list differently than a GOAT discussion and treat who is currently — right now — the best, pound-for-pound.

To wit: 15 years ago, conversations about the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighter regularly revolved around then-WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres. At the time, it was a legitimate conversation and one that was widely reported. It wasn’t like when Demetrious Johnson was at the top of many people’s lists. But losses and inactivity eventually pushed Torres out of the conversation, and a new haute couture name emerged at the top of the list. Then another. Then another. That’s how these kinds of lists work.

Jones has fought nine times in the last 10 years and has fought just once since February 2020. Makhachev is also 8-0 with a bonus in all four fights, including a double bonus night, and Pereira is back in MMA after a 4.5-year break from kickboxing, going 9-1 and winning two weight classes. Both seem to have a legitimate case to be considered the No. 1 ranked fighter ahead of Jones and his 1-0 streak over the same period.

White has made it a point in the past to say that fighters who sit out certain fights risk having their opportunities pass them by. Jones’ current injury layoff helps, but he’s been out for three years since moving up from light heavyweight to heavyweight. That time also included a contract dispute with the UFC, where White said he couldn’t work with Jones personally and left that to other managers. But a rough estimate is that about a quarter of Jones’ inactive time since he vacated the 205-pound title has been due to injuries, but he certainly has some control over the rest.

It’s one interpretation to say Jones shouldn’t be penalized on the list for his inactivity, but it also supports the theory that Makhachev and Pereira shouldn’t be rewarded for their achievements, which doesn’t seem very sporting.

But White appears to be resisting backing Jones on a list based on speculation and opinion.

“No question. No question. Anyone who tries to argue that with me, you hate Jon Jones and you don’t like him as a person,” White said. “And I get it. But it’s not about whether you like him or not. It’s based on the facts and what he’s done in his career.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White: Jon Jones’ UFC P4P rankings show voters ‘know absolutely nothing about fighting’