Dana White wants to get Jon Jones’ disqualification loss from 2009 overturned

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has one of the most dominant and decorated resumes in the history of the mixed martial arts but he has one lone blemish on his record from a disqualification loss against Matt Hamill back in 2009.

It was just the fourth fight for Jones in the UFC but he was already building a reputation as a future contender in the light heavyweight division. He faced off Hamill at “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10 finale card in Las Vegas and Jones was on the verge of a finish towards the close of the opening round.

That’s when Jones unleashed a hellacious series of elbow strikes that bludgeoned Hamill and seemingly stopped the fight until referee Steve Mazzagatti paused the action. Because Jones was throwing his elbow strikes in a 12 to 6 motion — straight up and straight down again — which are illegal, the referee disqualified him when Hamill was unable to continue.

That disqualification loss stands as the only defeat on Jones’ entire record but UFC president Dana White says he’s going to do his best to work with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to get that result overturned.

“The guy’s never lost a fight ever. That one loss on his record, we’re trying to get that [overturned],” White revealed when speaking to ESPN in Los Angeles on Monday. “It was at a time and a place in the Nevada State Athletic Commission when it was at its worst.

“It was the weakest commission ever in the history of Nevada and the referee that reffed that fight shouldn’t have even been in there and he disqualified Jon, which shouldn’t have happened either. So hopefully we can get that overturned.”

White’s problems with Mazzagatti have been well documented over the years as he has regularly criticized the veteran referee for questionable calls in numerous UFC fights.

Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett declined to comment on White’s potential appeal when reached by MMAFighting on Tuesday.

White didn’t say if the UFC has actually had any conversations with the commission as of yet regarding the possibility of having the disqualification loss overturned.

Even with that loss, Jones’ record stands at a gaudy 24-1 with one no contest including victories in 12 title bouts throughout his UFC career.

“Jon Jones is — you can’t even argue it, you can’t deny any more — he’s the greatest ever,” White said about the reigning light heavyweight champion. “He’s the greatest of all time.

“If you look at his life outside the octagon and what he’s been able to do inside the octagon, it’s pretty amazing. Nobody has ever been better than Jon Jones. The guy’s unstoppable.”