'Real recognize real'… Jon Jones vehemently defends Dana White amid 'Greatest Fighter' debate with one of his signature catchphrases
31/08/2024 13:36
Jon Jones has leapt to the defence of UFC boss Dana White as fans continue to mock him over his support of the heavyweight champion.
White’s constant outspoken support of Jones as the greatest MMA fighter of all time has become a meme within the sport. It is joked that he will regularly force into a conversation that the two-division champion is the ‘GOAT’, regardless of whether it was relevant or not.
And fans have taken to mocking White for his passionate arguments, with many feeling that he should be putting more pressure on Jones to defend his belt against Tom Aspinall. The Brit holds interim heavyweight gold, but his rival is instead facing 42-year-old Stipe Miocic.
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Dana White continues media onslaught over Jon Jones’ ‘GOAT’ claim
The meme has continued to grow in the past few weeks as Dana White leans into the joke of his overly-exuberant insistence that Jon Jones is the best fighter in the world. And it boiled over into a debate with members of the media at a recent Las Vegas press conference for Contender Series.
"Did I mention to you guys that Jon Jones is the greatest of all time?" White jokingly questioned at the media event. He's the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world (currently) and he's the GOAT, you all know this. Numbers don't lie.”
There has also been a running online joke that Jones must have some sort of blackmail material on his promoter, namely pictures on his phone. When veteran journalist Kevin Iole brought this up, White laughed off the suggestion, before a more heated debate eventually ensued.
The UFC boss attempted to claim that Jones is still an ‘active’ UFC fighter, despite last competing over a year-and-a-half ago. He argued that following his heavyweight title win against Ciryl Gane, Jones quickly signed up for a November 2023 bout with Miocic, which he was forced from due to injury.
Jon Jones defends Dana White amid social media memes
Jon Jones, for his part, has taken to social media to give his take on the memes, defending his promoter to the hilt. He even used a famous Dana White catchphrase to get his point across in an Instagram comment yesterday.
“You put Dana White in a business meeting with any man on this f***ing planet, there’s only one man coming out on top,” Jones wrote in a cheeky message playing on his promoter’s notorious line, also adding that “Real recognize real.”
White is infamous for claiming that if Jones were to be put in a room with any man on the planet and only one can leave, there isn’t one who would make it out.
