- Dana White admitted to being wrong about judging Alex Pereira before he even made his UFC debut
- The UFC boss explained why Jon Jones will always be the pound-for-pound best despite “Poatan’s” remarkable run
UFC president Dana White opened up about underestimating Alex Pereira’s skills and defended Jon Jones’ pound-for-pound best status once again.
Dana was wrong about Alex
Speaking to the media in his post-UFC 303 presser, the UFC boss came clean about writing Pereira off before he made his UFC debut. White thought that the Brazilian wouldn’t be a great fighter, considering his age.
“It’s incredible, right? No, I don’t think [Pereira would be great] like that, especially when you’ve got a guy that’s coming in from kickboxing, he has this long kickboxing career, and is older coming into the UFC, I think the exact opposite. This guy’s not gonna do very well here. He’s gonna get taken down, smashed, submitted, you know, all that kind of stuff. But, man was I wrong,” White said.
Dana defends Jones by not defending Jones
When asked if “Poatan” is closing in on the UFC’s pound-for-pound best title, White acknowledged Pereira’s potential but insisted that it would never happen as long as Jones is still up there.
“He’s another guy that has moved up and is willing to move up to heavyweight,” White said of Pereira’s case to become the pound-for-pound king. “So, for all those that don’t know what the pound for pound means, that’s what it means, guys like that. But still, as long as Jon Jones is still in the conversation, Jon Jones has never lost. He’s never lost a fight.”
White further pointed out that just because “Bones” got hurt, doesn’t mean he didn’t want to fight. That said, his inactivity should not affect not only his pound-for-pound No. 1 but also his GOAT status.
“He was trying to fight,” White said of Jones. “It’s not like he’s just f**king sitting around and doesn’t want to fight. The guy came to fight. It’s the first injury he’s ever had. And listen to me, I’m not defending Jon Jones. You know what I mean? Jon Jones has been one of my biggest f**king headaches the entire time that I’ve been in this company. And, you know, the guy hasn’t been the model fighter of the company. No matter what you think of Jon Jones, he’s the f**king best ever, and I think he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.”
“If you were coming into a fight and you f**king got hurt, that means you’re not the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world anymore.? How does that even make sense? It doesn’t make sense. If he was sitting out and f**king getting arrested and running around or whatever, and you’re like, you know, well, Jon Jones is inactive. I’d say maybe you’re right. But as an educated adult who knows the fight business, you cannot deny that while Jon Jones is active, he is the greatest fighter in the world,” he added.
Pereira’s knockout win over Jiri Prochazka marked his second successful title defense as the light heavyweight champ. He is eager to move up to heavyweight but White said they still need to figure out what’s gonna happen.
As it stands, Jones is still the UFC’s pound-for-pound best fighter. White confirmed that “Bones” will face Stipe Miocic once he fully recovers.
Watch White’s full presser below:
