10 years ago, Jon Jones suffered the only loss of his mixed martial arts career to Matt Hamill. The loss came when, in the midst of his ground-and-pound, Jones delivered 12-6 elbows to Hamill, prompting the referee to disqualify Jones. This has remained the one loss on Jon Jones’s record to this day.
But despite the number 1 on the right side of Jon Jones’s record, many people do not consider the Matt Hamill fight to be a true loss for Jones. From commentators like Joe Rogan to fighters who vow to be the first fighter to beat Jon Jones, Jones’s one loss has been viewed by most people to be a technicality. UFC president Dana White is one of those people….and he just happens to be one who can do something about it.
In an interview with ESPN Los Angeles, Dana White revealed that he is working with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to get Jon Jones’s disqualification loss to Hamill overturned (h/t Omar Villa):
There has been debate on whether 12-6 elbows should be legalized in mixed martial arts, but at the moment they remain on the list of illegal maneuvers.
If the fight is overturned, the loss would not be changed to a win, but the result would instead be ruled a no contest on the records of both Jon Jones and Matt Hamill. That would make the second no contest on Jones’s record, with the first occurring at UFC 214 in his fight with Daniel Cormier following a failed drug test.
Jon Jones remains one of the most controversial figures in mixed martial arts. And as someone who has done his share of self-sabotaging, the consensus appears to be that it is Jones who this time is the victim after an unjust decision by referee Steve Mazzagatti. Time will tell if Dana White will be able to come to the light heavyweight champion’s rescue.
Jon Jones will look to add another win on his record at UFC 239 when he defends the light heavyweight championship against Thiago Santos in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Do you believe Jon Jones’s loss to Matt Hamill should be overturned to a no contest?
