Jon Jones is arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history, with an almost perfect record.
As he prepares to make his return at UFC 285 on Saturday, Jones enters his fight against Ciryl Gane with a 26-1 record and one no contest in 28 career fights. The one loss was a disqualification in a fight Jones was dominating against Matt Hamill back in 2009, however the action was stopped after the future UFC light heavyweight champion landed several elbows that referee Steve Mazzagatti deemed as illegal.
The striking motion, known as 12-to-6 — essentially bringing the elbows straight up then straight down again– is illegal, and when Hamill was unable to continue, Mazzagatti disqualified Jones rather than calling the fouls accidental or declaring a no contest.
This is a topic that continues to anger Dana White, UFC president, to this day. He doesn’t think Jones should have any negative marks on his records, particularly for a fight in which he destroyed Hamill and then had to stop because of the illegal punches.
“I mean realistically — if you look at all the people that he’s fought, he’s never lost a fight,” White said on The Jim Rome Show on Wednesday. It’s a terrible thing that that [loss] fight is still on White’s record. 26-1.
“You have to understand for the people that don’t know, this was during a time when the Nevada State Athletic Commission was very weak and there was a referee in there that stopped the fight and called Jones the loser in that fight. He was dominant in the fight and it should have ended. Instead of disqualifying Jones, they should have stopped the fight. Jones really should be 27-0.”
White ultimately holds Mazzagatti responsible for making a bad call, which is part of the reason he spoke out against the referee while he was still officiating fights.
Eventually, Mazzagatti was removed from the regular rotation of referees overseeing UFC fights.
To this day, White says he’s continuously fighting to get the Nevada Athletic Commission to overturn Jones only career loss, but despite his best efforts, he just hasn’t been able to pull it off.
“That fight should have been stopped, it should have been over, and Jones should be 27-0,” White said. “I fought hard to get that one taken off his record but I haven’t been able to get it done.
“It’s horrible. It’s a referee that I said a million times should not even be in the octagon [refereeing]. But what are you going to do?”
As far as his expectations for Saturday, White still believes that ring rust could be a factor for Jones after sitting out for the past three years since his last fight, but he also believes the former UFC light heavyweight champion is still the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, even as he approaches his heavyweight debut.
” Jon Jones [as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter],” White would be the one to say it. “I can tell you this, Jon Jones is an absolute freak of nature. He has been since the day that he walked into this company. All the questions will be answered on Saturday night.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/3/1/23621079/dana-white-tried-overturn-jon-jones-only-loss-hasnt-been-able-to-get-it-done-jones-should-be-27-0?rand=96749
