Dana White’s recent interview with Piers Morgan has become an internet sensation. Even within the combat sports world, every word that comes out of the UFC boss’s mouth is considered valuable. So, when White referred to Jon Jones as ‘the Baddest Man on the Planet’ during the interview, the internet exploded.
Even Piers Morgan didn’t anticipate this idea, not because it’s incomprehensible, but because there are other fighters whose legacies far precede them. Dana White began his response by mentioning none other than Muhammad Ali, and when boxing was brought up, the legendary Mike Tyson had to be mentioned. However, for the UFC’s CEO, ‘Bones’ is still the best in the world.
Dana White’s number 1 fighter is Jon Jones
In the Piers Morgan Uncensored interview, Dana White bared his soul about a lot of things. The questions had to come to his favorite fighters at one point or another, given the man’s profession. The conversation had big names and big claims that suited the fighters. Here’s what Morgan asked and received in response.
“Who is the greatest fighter of any kind that you’ve ever seen?” Asked Morgan, a question to which Dana responded with another question. “Of any time? In any sport?” questioned Dana, with hesitation clouding his face. Afterall, how could anyone pick just one person from the history of battle sports? So the interviewer made it easy for him:
“If you could choose one person in history say modern history last hundred years to fight literally for your life who would it be?” The question was interesting.
Could Dana choose someone with great stature but a few losses to protect him with his life on the line? One would think twice before handing their lives in hands that have known loss. So he went with the first undefeated name that popped into his head.
“I mean Jon Jones who’s in the UFC still has never been beat,” Dana said. “This guy has beat everybody and when you talk about real fighting, you know when you talk about who the baddest man on the planet is.”
Technically, though, Jones does have a loss on his record. His only single loss came from hammering his then-opponent with illegal ’12-6 elbows’ which is when the point of the elbow is used to strike in the downward direction. The move banned Jones from fighting further and a disqualification was called because his opponent, Matt Hamill, suffered a separated shoulder. The DQ is considered widely controversial by many.
Dana White thinks Jones would dominate Tyson if there were no rules
When greats are mentioned, other greats pop up naturally. Piers Morgan was quick to challenge White’s pick by mentioning none other than Mike Tyson. Everyone knows the fearsome Hall of Famer was a demon back in his day. The New Yorker has 50 wins to his name and only six losses in his career that spanned just a little over 20 years. Morgan’s pick was more than just well placed.
“I tell you who I would say I would take,” Morgan said. “Tyson before he went into prison.” The suggestion was enough to make Dana go into a little list of why Tyson might not walk out of a room if he was put in there with Jones.
“A hundred percent but Tyson doesn’t know the ground game. Tyson can’t grapple,” Dana White started counting on his fingers. “Nobody loves Mike Tyson more than I do, believe me, but when you talk about putting two guys in a room who comes out, Jon Jones has the tools to beat everybody.”