While lightweight champion Islam Makhachev officially has been ranked as the promotion’s pound-for-pound best for quite some time, White has spent the past year vehemently making the case for Jones. But that changed Saturday night after Makhachev submitted replacement Renato Moicano in the first round of the UFC 311 main event at Intuit Dome.

Dana White has seen enough to finally put Islam Makhachev at the top of his personal list as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter over Jon Jones.

UFC president Dana White now believes Islam Makhachev is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world after UFC 311.

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has playfully noted UFC boss Dana White's change of stance over the pound-for-pound rankings.

Dana White announced a major change to the UFC 311 pay-per-view card this Saturday in Los Angeles. Just hours before the official weigh-in on Friday, White and the matchmakers got word that Arman Tsarukyan has an ailing back and that he wouldn’t be able to compete this weekend against Islam Makhachev.

Dana White denies Arman Tsarukyan a title shot against Islam Makhachev, stating the rising contender won’t get his chance yet.

Dana White spent the majority of 2024 blasting the UFC rankings panel for overlooking heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who has fought just twice in five years, in favor of Makhachev. However, the MMA mogul finally admitted that Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate is the best fighter currently on his roster after UFC 311.

The ride to UFC 311 had some last-minute bumps in the road when would-be lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan suffered a back injury Friday that forced his withdrawal from a main-event rematch with champion Islam Makhachev, resulting in a Renato Moicano detour on a day's notice.

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev could potentially defend his title against a familiar foe next. UFC CEO and president Dana White's major update on the consensus lightweight No.

The UFC 311 event was thrown into temporary dissaray one day before it's due to begin Saturday, the 18th of January, as main event fighter Arman Tsarukyan, who was scheduled to challenge the UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, withdrew from the bout on Friday, citing a back injury.

After making short work of Renato Moicano Saturday night at UFC 311, Islam Makhachev is already targeting who he wants to defend his belt against next.

Makhachev is already the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, a decision UFC CEO Dana White lambasted. White has reiterated that UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones should be No. 1, but when asked if Makhachev’s willingness to fight anyone at anytime has changed his mind, he finally caved.