Saving Dana White’s UFC 311, Islam Makhachev Sends Scary Reminder After CEO Vouches for Jon Jones

There has never been a day when Dana White didn’t lift Jon Jones up high as the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the world. But all that has begun to change now. Well, the change began with the fallout of the fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev for UFC 311. And that gave the lightweight champ the golden opportunity to take a subtle jibe at the UFC head honcho regarding the P4P rankings.

The UFC CEO, in an announcement, revealed that his team got a call from ‘Ahalkalakets’ at 1 am, claiming that he was “not healthy enough” to fight the Dagestani champion. With just one day to UFC 311, White fell into a dilemma. He called up Renato Moicanowho was supposed to fight Beneil Dariush at the event. Since ‘Money’ is on a 4-fight win streak, according to White, it makes him a worthy opponent for Makhachev.

However, there was still one problem left for White to solve. Would Makhachev agree to fight Moicano? The UFC boss recalled“When we called Islam Makhachev, he said ‘Brother, I am the champion, I fight anyone, I don’t care.’” This let White take a sigh of relief as he announced“So, the new fight, the number 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Islam Makhachev, vs. Renato Moicano for the lightweight title, tomorrow night, in the Intuit Dome, Los Angeles.”

If you didn’t notice, Dana White finally acknowledged Islam Makhachev as the number 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the roster. This made the lightweight champion buff up in pride. He took to Instagram and shared a video of White announcing the new fight on his IG Story. In the caption, the champion wrote“[Dana White] Now you understand what is the meaning p4p.”

Of course, this wasn’t the first time Makhachev tried to make White realize the actual P4P list. During the media day for UFC 311the Dagestani lightweight champion left the UFC bossman perplexed after he stayed adamant about Jon Jones being the #1 P4P fighter.

Islam Makhachev asks Dana White to be truthful about the P4P #1 fighter

During the UFC 311 media day back in December, a reporter asked White about the P4P #1. Needless to say, this was a question that the entire world had bombarded him at every chance they got. Nevertheless, White replied“Numbers don’t lie. Are you guys that fu—ng stupid? You can’t be that fu—ng stupid to not think Jon Jones is the best fighter in the world!” But the #1 P4P fighter, as per the UFC athlete rankings, was already sitting on the stage. He said“Dana, you have to be true, man.”

The UFC boss couldn’t react for a second there. But he finally said“Listen, Islam knows I love him, man. But you know how I feel about that. Jon Jones is undefeated for however many years. Boo all you want. I don’t give a s–t.” Well, Makhachev wasn’t someone who was going to leave it at that. He persisted and asked White to be true and say who was the actual #1 P4P fighter. However, White was left speechless and angry at the reporter for asking that question.

Now, Makhachev proved his strength and readiness by accepting a fight against Moicano on such short notice. But would he be able to defend his lightweight belt for the 4th time? We’ll see that pretty soon.

What do you think of White’s take on the P4P list? Does Jones really belong in the #1 spot? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.