“He stole that fight” – Dana White still critical of the referee who cost Jon Jones his only loss

Published by

3 years ago

Dana White, UFC President gives a speech during 2019 UFC Performance Institute Panel and UFC Fight Night Shenzhen Press Conference at UFC Performance Institute Shanghai (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)

Jon Jones’ only loss in his MMA career came against Matt Hamill way back in 2009

Jon Jones‘ UFC record is almost clean. He just has a speck of dust on his fight resume. The reason? – His only loss in the UFC against Matt Hamill.

It was December 2009 and Jones was making his way up in the light-heavyweight division. He was on a three-fight win streak, and was scheduled to take on Hamill at the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale.

Jon Jones is one of the greatest athletes in the history of the UFC (Getty)

Right from the beginning of the fight, Jones began battering Hamill and in the last minute of the first round, he began a ‘ground-and-pound’ assault on Hamill.

That’s when he struck a 12-6 elbow on a helpless Hamill which cut open his forehead causing him to bleed profusely. The fight was stopped and awarded to Hamill. Until this day, this has been Jones’ only loss in his MMA career.

UFC President Dana White has time and again claimed that the decision was so wrong, accusing the referee Steve Mazzagatti of messing it up.

White once again brought that up in a recent interview with TMZ Sports. He asserted that the referee Mazzagatti stole that fight away from a young Jones.

“You see that one loss on his record. He didn’t lose that, he won that fight in dominant fashion like most of his fights. It was a time when the Nevada State Athletic Commission was at its weakest. And, there was a referee in there, who shouldn’t have been there. He stole that fight from Jon Jones.”

Jon Jones’ future in the heavyweight division remains uncertain

It is not clear as to when Jones would be making his heavyweight debut. UFC President Dana White recently offered him a fight against Stipe Miocic, which Jones refused.

White, therefore, stated that the UFC would be moving on without Jones in the same interview with TMZ Sports.

Jon Jones is one of the best in the history of UFC (Image credit: Getty)

The boss then said it was up to the light-heavyweight GOAT to decide on his future, even suggesting that he could move back to the light-heavyweight division.