Ah, the age-old question, who’s the real pound-for-pound king of the UFC? Is it Jon Jones, the two-division wrecking machine with a resume as stacked as his list of controversies? Or is it Islam Makhachev, the Dagestani grappling wizard who’s been steamrolling opponents while Dana White begrudgingly acknowledges his greatness?
However, not everyone has a clear choice or a choice at all. In a fiery interview with Inside Fighting, UFC lightweight contender Grant Dawson didn’t hold back, launching a bold accusation against two of the sport’s biggest names. According to Dawson, neither Jon Jones nor Islam Makhachev deserves a clean crown—because, in his eyes, “they’re both cheating.”
He put his feet on the pedal and let the heat come, sparking a firestorm of opinions. What followed was a mix of sarcasm, accusations, and plenty of shade, “I have no evidence to prove that, that’s merely a freedom of speech guess. I think they’re both cheating, and I think Islam’s just better at cheating than Jon Jones was.”
He further spiced up things and said, “The only argument you can make is that Jon Jones has failed dr-g tests and Islam Makhachev hasn’t. The thing I’m going to say, though, is, I think that’s because Islam is in Russia and Jon Jones is here, you know?” In Dawson’s world, it’s not about whether someone’s playing by the rules, it’s just about who’s better at dodging consequences.
March 5, 2023, Las Vegas, NV, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, United States: LAS VEGAS, NV – March 5: Jon Jones meets with the media following his win over Cyril Gane at T-Mobile Arena for UFC 285 -Jones vs Gane: Event on March 5, 2023 in Las Vegas, NV, United States. Las Vegas, NV United States – ZUMAp175 20230305_zsa_p175_003 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
However, Dawson had initially handed both fighters their due credit, “Jon Jones has beaten everybody. Two-division world champion. Beaten everybody. Nobody has beaten him. His one loss, he got DQ’d. Islam’s one loss, he got knocked out.” He’s got a point, at least statistically. Jones’ only loss came via disqualification against Matt Hamill back in 2009 for throwing 12-to-6 elbows, a rule about as logical as banning knockouts for being too effective.
Meanwhile, the lightweight champ got knocked out cold by Adriano Martins in 2015. One was a technicality. The other? A very real, very brutal stoppage. However, the surging 155fer isn’t the only one with an obsession for this debate. The topic has been taken by UFC head honcho Dana White now and then. However, things recently took an interesting turn.
Did Dana White just surrender on the pound-for-pound debate to Islam Makhachev?
And then there’s Dana White, the UFC boss who spent most of 2024 rolling his eyes at anyone bold enough to rank the Dagestani above Jon Jones. For months, he dug in his heels, insisting that Jones, despite fighting just twice in five years, was still the undisputed P4P king. No matter how dominant Makhachev looked, White wasn’t budging. But then UFC 311 happened.
The lightweight champ was set to fight Arman Tsarukyan, but when the Armenian pulled out last minute, the lightweight champ took on Renato Moicano instead. And guess what? It didn’t matter. The Dagestani made quick work of Moicano, submitting him in the first round and broke the record for the most lightweight title defenses in history.
The performance was so dominant that it forced the head honcho to change his tune, begrudgingly. “Yeah, I’ll give it to him [#1 P4P spot],” White admitted in his post-fight press conference, sounding about as thrilled as someone forced to apologize after losing a bet. “Are you happy? Is everybody happy now?” Translation? Fine. You win. Stop asking me.
So, here we are. The UFC boss has ‘finally‘ handed the crown to the deserving, but Dawson’s out here calling everyone a fraud. Jones is undefeated if you ignore the DQ (and maybe a few dr-g test violations), while Makhachev’s been spotless unless you buy into Dawson’s theory that Russian testing is just better at looking the other way.
So, who’s the best? The guy who fights once a presidential term but has dominated two divisions? Or the lightweight king who’s been far more active, finishing top-tier contenders and even making Dana White wave the white flag? Let us know your pick in the comment section below!
The post “They’re Both Cheating” – Islam Makhachev & Jon Jones Face Serious Allegations in Controversial Take on UFC’s #1 P4P Fighter appeared first on EssentiallySports.
