Dana White hints at major UFC pound-for-pound ranking shakeup ahead of the UFC 313 bout

While Dana White was never an appreciator of the UFC ranking systems and has been constantly trying to change them, even by replacing them with AI, the upcoming UFC 313 has White thinking about the possible changes within the rankings of the fighter. This is in particular with the pound-for-pound ranking, which is currently being dominated by Islam Makhachev post his UFC 313 fight against Renato Moicano. Prior to this, the category was led by Jon Jones, constantly debated by certain media members and fans. Now with UFC 313 being around the corner, White predicts that the surging fighter Alex Pereira might end up conquering the category and adding another achievement to his list.
Even though Jon Jones has been dethroned by Makhachev, owing to the latter’s resume—highlighted by his willingness to take on short-notice fights and his current 15-fight winning streak—Jon Jones still has a chance to reclaim the top spot if he secures a win against Tom Aspinall, a fight White is eager to set up as he states in the Jim Rome Show

“The plan is to fight Jon this summer,” White said. "Obviously, when, where, and all that stuff is being determined. My goal this year is to make that fight [with] Aspinall.”
However, it was quite evident that White is equally invested and curious to see how the results of the UFC 313 turn out to be. With a growing fondness for Pereira, the current surging fighter, White is quite confident that Pereira will emerge as the winner of the main card and shall take his place as the best fighter of the promotion.
“Probably you could call him the best, pound-for-pound,” White said, further adding, “He’s fought down at a lower weight class and was a world champion, moved up a weight class and is a world champion now. Ankalaev is without a doubt the toughest test of his career. Pereira’s team always talks about how good his takedown defense is, ‘it’s better than people realize’, we’re going to find out how good it is this weekend. And if he rips through Ankalaev the way he has everybody else. The other thing about Pereira that everybody loves is that this guy wants to move up to heavyweight and fight at heavyweight too. I’m the one that’s actually holding him back on that.”
While Ankalaev is still the fan favorite, Rome asked White if Pereira will be facing Jones if the former emerges as the winner of the UFC 313 main card.
“He wants to. Let’s see how this fight plays out, if he wins, how he wins, all that kind of stuff.", White continues, “I think that the fight that everybody wants to see right now is Jones and Aspinall and then there’s no doubt that Pereira could fight the winner.”
Through the upcoming bouts, there will be major shakeups within the ranking of the fighters. However, this will largely depend upon the outcome of the fights. Pereira has by far managed to impress the UFC President to a great extent. He currently secures the third rank in P4P and is set to defend his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev. If Pereira secures an impressive win, White has indicated he could consider him the new top-ranked fighter. Pereira has already cemented himself as a two-division champion, having previously held the middleweight title before moving up to 205 pounds.
Also Read: Belal Muhammad downplays Leon Edwards’ title-run hopes as he prepares to face Jack Della Maddalena instead
With Makhachev now at the top, Pereira potentially rising, and Jones aiming for a comeback, the pound-for-pound debate is far from settled. This leaves the fans excited for the new rankings to be finalized.