Dana White names Jon Jones the Michael Jordan of UFC, Conor McGregor the Muhammad Ali

Dana White has been at the helm of the UFC for a long time and has seen the biggest names dominate the sport during his tenure.

Conor McGregor, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and a host of others have starred in the UFC.

It’s difficult to pick the best out of them, but White was certain of one name being the Muhammad Ali of the UFC.

Ali is considered one of the greatest sportspeople ever if not the greatest, and White, during an interview with The New Yorker, suggested that the boxing legend could be the greatest human ever.

He was also asked who could be the UFC’s Ali, and the name that White suggested was an interesting one:

“Well, we have a guy named Conor McGregor, who I would say is like our Muhammad Ali. But, if you’re looking for your Michael Jordan, it would be Jon Jones, who is the greatest.”

McGregor helped the UFC become a huge success and was one of the biggest names in sports during his prime. However, he has had his run-ins with the law, and some of his comments on his fellow fighters haven’t always been the best.

White further explained why Jones was the Michael Jordan of the sport:

“Jon Jones has never been beat, and he’s moved up and down weight classes. It’s very, very unique and hard to be undefeated in the UFC”

Jones is also considered one of the greatest ever, but he, too, like McGregor, has had his issues with the law and was also suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs.

He also went on to explain what made McGregor comparable to Ali:

“He’s got what Muhammad Ali had. He has that ability when he walks into a room. People just are fascinated by them, to listen to them. They’re funny. They have incredible, magnetic personalities.”

When Dana White explained why Khabib Nurmagomedov was not the MMA GOAT

Khabib Nurmagomedov has also been in the running for being the greatest MMA fighter of all time. The Russian, a former UFC lightweight champion, retired with a 29-0 record.

However, White explained, during an episode of the Lex Fridman podcast, that Nurmagomedov’s retirement was the main reason for not reaching GOAT status:

“I think that Khabib had the potential to be in the running for that. He just didn’t stick around [for long enough]. First of all, he had injuries that… he should have been where he got a lot sooner had he not had the injuries that he had and the setbacks in his career. But there’s no doubt, Khabib is one of the all-time greats.”