While lightweight champion Islam Makhachev officially has been ranked as the promotion’s pound-for-pound best for quite some time, White has spent the past year vehemently making the case for Jones. But that changed Saturday night after Makhachev submitted replacement Renato Moicano in the first round of the UFC 311 main event at Intuit Dome.

Dana White has seen enough to finally put Islam Makhachev at the top of his personal list as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter over Jon Jones.

UFC president Dana White now believes Islam Makhachev is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world after UFC 311.

Dana White announced a major change to the UFC 311 pay-per-view card this Saturday in Los Angeles. Just hours before the official weigh-in on Friday, White and the matchmakers got word that Arman Tsarukyan has an ailing back and that he wouldn’t be able to compete this weekend against Islam Makhachev.

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has playfully noted UFC boss Dana White's change of stance over the pound-for-pound rankings.

Moicano gets a big opportunity, but White said Makhachev was without hesitation when the news was presented to him. “When we called Islam Makhachev, he said, ‘Brother, I am the champion. I fight anybody,

Dana White denies Arman Tsarukyan a title shot against Islam Makhachev, stating the rising contender won’t get his chance yet.

The UFC 311 event was thrown into temporary dissaray one day before it's due to begin Saturday, the 18th of January, as main event fighter Arman Tsarukyan, who was scheduled to challenge the UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, withdrew from the bout on Friday, citing a back injury.

UFC President Dana White announced Friday that Islam Makhachev will defend the UFC lightweight title against Renato Moicano at UFC 311 on Saturday

The ride to UFC 311 had some last-minute bumps in the road when would-be lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan suffered a back injury Friday that forced his withdrawal from a main-event rematch with champion Islam Makhachev, resulting in a Renato Moicano detour on a day's notice.

Makhachev is already the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, a decision UFC CEO Dana White lambasted. White has reiterated that UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones should be No. 1, but when asked if Makhachev’s willingness to fight anyone at anytime has changed his mind, he finally caved.

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland called out his "brother" for getting him addicted to StarCraft 2 as he is in the last two weeks of camp for the Dricus du Plessis rematch.