UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time. Jones holds a professional record of 24-1 with one no contest, but the lone loss on his record has always been surrounded by controversy.
Jones’ loss came on December 5, 2009, against Matt Hamill at “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale.”
Throughout the fight, Jones was dominating Hamill like he has done to his opponents throughout his career but he was ultimately disqualified due to illegal 12-6 elbows. Hamill did not respond to the referee’s inquiry of whether he could continue fighting, which led to the DQ loss.
Now, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and boss Dana White are looking to wipe the loss from Jones record.
In an interview with ESPN Los Angeles Radio, Dana White revealed that he is working with the Nevada State Athletic Commission in an effort to overturn Jones’ loss.
If White and the UFC are successful, the result would not be changed to a win for Jones. Instead, both he and Hamill would get a no contest for the bout.
After news of the UFC’s efforts came to light, commentator Joe Rogan shared his thoughts on social media saying that he fully supports the promotion’s effort and that it would be the right decision.
“I’m in agreement with this 100 percent,” Rogan wrote on Twitter. “The 12-6 elbow rule is one of the dumbest rules in combat sports. At the very least that fight should be a no contest. He was completely dominant.”
Whether the UFC is successful remains to be seen, but many MMA fans believe that Jones should not have the loss on his record.
In the meantime, Jones is preparing to defend his light heavyweight championship against Thiago “Marreta” Santos on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239 which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card will air on pay-per-view with a women’s bantamweight championship bout between two-division titleholder Amanda Nunes taking on former champ Holly Holm in the co-main event.