Midnight Mania! Jon Jones GOAT, Dana Gloats, Robots Vote

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UFC CEO Dana White is tired of the pound-for-pound discussion. In his mind, it’s absolutely undeniable that Jon Jones is the current pound-for-pound king of MMA (despite having just a single victory in the last three years). Despite the UNDEBATABLE nature of Jones’ greatness, White has been forced to defend his position so much so that he learned the definition of “glazing” from the online UFC fanbase.

Given a full week to prepare his argument before this week’s meeting with the media, White has utilized the UFC production crew to create a Jon Jones promotional video advertising him as the greatest of all time (GOAT). It’s chockfull of Jones’ statistics and facts, and it can be seen in full above.

It should be noted, however, that the promotional video doesn’t announce Jones’ planned bout versus Stipe Miocic. Technically, “Bones” remains unbooked, so this is a rare case of UFC quite actively promoting a fighter who doesn’t have a fight scheduled.

White reflected to the video in the post-fight press conference of Tuesday’s episode of Contenders Series. White seemed very pleased with the video and revealed that it won’t be long until the UFC rankings are run by artificial intelligence.

“Did you guys read that stats?” White asked the media. “He recently just beat the No. 1 Heavyweight in the world. Hope you guys read that stat. You know what is f—king great about technology? We’re not far away from AI actually doing these rankings, and it’ll be a great f—king day when AI starts doing this s—t. I’m really excited about that!”

Just for fun, I went on ChatGPT and requested that the program “Compile a list of the top 10 current pound-for-pound best UFC fighters.” Here’s the result:

As of September 2024, the top 10 current pound-for-pound UFC fighters are often debated among fans and analysts, but here’s a list based on recent performances, titles, and overall impact in the sport:

Alexander Volkanovski – UFC Featherweight Champion and highly skilled with impressive victories across multiple weight classes.

Islam Makhachev – UFC Lightweight Champion known for his dominant wrestling and striking abilities.

Jon Jones – UFC Heavyweight Champion and former Light Heavyweight Champion, regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time.

Leon Edwards – UFC Welterweight Champion with a well-rounded skill set and notable victories.

Israel Adesanya – Former UFC Middleweight Champion and a standout striker with a dynamic fighting style.

Charles Oliveira – Former UFC Lightweight Champion with exceptional grappling and finishing skills.

Kamaru Usman – Former UFC Welterweight Champion, known for his strong wrestling and striking.

Amanda Nunes – Former UFC Featherweight and Bantamweight Champion, with a powerful and aggressive fighting style.

Jamahal Hill – UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, noted for his striking power and recent rise in the division.

Aljamain Sterling – UFC Bantamweight Champion, recognized for his grappling prowess and technical skills.

Given that more than half of the names above lost their last bout and one is retired, it looks like the rankings panel gets to exist for at least one more week. As for Jones, he has a much stronger case for GOAT than current pound-for-pound king, so I’m not sure that video entirely hit the mark either.

They are, after all, different things!

Insomnia

Cody Durden is stepping up to replace the injured Alessandro Costa!

Every time Javier Mendez posts behind-the-scenes bantering at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), it’s going in the column.

It’s cool to see Terence Crawford on the other side of the mitts, offering insight and advice.

Whatever Russian promotion this is having face-offs take place in a matted area … smart!

This prompt ignited a bit of discussion, and all I can think about is just how mangled Michael Bisping’s face was after five rounds with geriatric Dan Henderson.

How many people can actually force Tom Aspinall back? An accomplishment in its own right.

Petr Yan has some of the coolest takedowns of all time.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Since being released from the UFC, Vince Morales has won five in a row with four stoppages. A strangle this slick deserves a second chance!

I miss watching Demian Maia knife through opponent’s defense like butter.

High kick rocked him straight through the guard.

Random Land

Every balding man has this level of attachment to his hat.

Midnight Music: Soul/Jazz, 1968

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.