Jon Jones put a friendly public note next to Dana White during UFC 329 week, and the timing matters because their names had just been dragged through another round of legacy debate.
Jones shared a smiling selfie with White after being around the Las Vegas event, where he helped corner Gable Steveson for his UFC debut. His caption did not address every recent disagreement with the UFC president. It did make one thing clear about the bigger relationship.
“changed my life, always a homie no matter what.”
The public X post showing the Jones selfie is below.
https://x.com/DovySimuMMA/status/2076866132129296696
Jon Jones’ UFC Record Keeps Him Central To The GOAT Debate
Jones’ official record is 28-1 with one no contest. UFC Stats lists him with 11 knockout wins and seven submission wins, along with an 84-inch reach that helped define his long run at light heavyweight before he moved to heavyweight.
The single loss on Jones’ record is the 2009 disqualification against Matt Hamill for illegal elbows. His no contest came from the second Daniel Cormier fight, when Jones’ 2017 knockout win was overturned. That is why his record is technically not unbeaten, even though no opponent has beaten him by decision, submission, or knockout.
Jones won the UFC light heavyweight title from Mauricio Rua in 2011 and became the youngest champion in UFC history at 23. He later reclaimed the belt after interruptions outside the cage, defended it across multiple reigns, and then moved up to heavyweight after vacating the 205-pound title.
His heavyweight chapter added another layer to the argument. Jones submitted Ciryl Gane in the first round at UFC 285 to win the vacant heavyweight title, then stopped Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. That win pushed his total UFC title defenses to 12, the kind of number White has often used when calling Jones one of the greatest fighters in MMA history.
Why Dana White And Alex Pereira Were Part Of The Tension
The selfie came after White had pushed Alex Pereira’s heavyweight move as a possible all-time legacy jump. Before Pereira fought Gane at UFC Freedom 250, White said Pereira could pass Jones in the GOAT race if he became the first three-division UFC champion.
“If he wins the third world title that night, he jumps over Jon Jones and becomes the greatest of all-time,” White said before UFC Freedom 250.
Gane stopped Pereira, and Jones later met Pereira during UFC 329 fight week. MiddleEasy covered that backstage exchange, where Jones told Pereira that his issue was not with him.
“I want Alex to know that I have no disrespect for Poatan,” Jones said.
“I felt like Dana was trying to attack me,” Jones said.
That history is what gives the selfie its meaning. Jones did not take back his problem with the Pereira comparison. He did separate that dispute from the fact that White and the UFC changed the course of his career.
The relationship has always had both parts. White promoted Jones through his rise from youngest champion in company history to two-division champion, but the two have also clashed over money, trust, comeback plans, and the White House card. Jones previously said talks for that card stalled, while White’s Pereira comments put Jones’ record back in the center of the GOAT debate.
UFC 329 did not answer whether Jones will fight again. It did show that, after the Pereira argument and the public criticism around it, Jones was willing to put a direct thank-you beside White’s name.
