One of the most influential athletic commission directors is on Jon Jones’ side.

At UFC Edmonton this past weekend, the MMA game changed as the new unified rules went into effect for the first time. Those rules updated the “grounded opponent” rule and also removed the previously banned “12 to 6 elbow” from the list of fouls. The small but significant changes are sure to impact the way fights unfold in the future, but it’s possible that one result from the past could also be altered: Jon Jones’ loss to Matt Hamill.

At The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale back in 2009, Jones suffered the only loss of his career thus far when he was disqualified by referee Steve Mazzagatti for illegal 12 to 6 elbows after Hamill was unable to continue. Following the announcement of the new rules, Jones made his case for overturning the result so he can have an undefeated record. And California State Athletic Commission Director Andy Foster agrees.

“The rule is what it was then. It’s different now,” Foster told Ariel Helwani on Tuesday. “It would be hard to go back. I’d be actually supportive of getting rid of that, but it’s not my decision. But I think it’s hard to go back with the rule being different than it is now.

“Yeah, [the result changed] to a no-contest,” Foster continued when asked. “ … I didn’t like the way it was enforced back then, but that’s 14 years ago. … We’re talking about 14 years later. At the time I thought there were other ways that you might could handle that situation other than just flat giving the guy a loss.”

At the time, Mazzagatti’s decision was extremely controversial as Jones was dominating the fight and Hamill was nearly out before the illegal blows occurred. And Foster agrees that Mazzagatti could have done differently.

“Disqualification should be the last resort a referee goes to,” Foster said. “That should be after you’ve used all the tools in your toolbox. We train these guys and we teach them, I know John McCarthy and the rest of the guys do, you’ve got a lot of things you can go to, a lot of things you can look at. Let’s do that before we disqualify people.

“Herb Dean is probably the gold standard of refereeing in the world right now. You’ll see him and he’ll methodically go through everything before — I don’t know if I’ve seen Herb disqualify somebody. … He’s very good at going through a lot of different things before you ever get to that.”

Unfortunately for Jones, Foster is not the one he has to convince becuase the fight took place in Las Vegas. And though Jones has plenty of support on this issue, even from some unlikely sources, for the time being it seems likely that instead this incident will live on in the lore of MMA: the only time Jones ever lost.

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Jon Anik doesn’t agree with Dana White, believing that Islam Makhachev should be No. 1 pound-for-pound over Jon Jones.

Lightweight champion Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) is ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound in the UFC rankings, which has caused White to melt down on more than one occasion. White argues that Jones is undeniably No. 1, even though he currently sits at No. 3 behind light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Makhachev.

Anik agrees with the UFC rankings as he thinks Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) having not competed since claiming the vacant heavyweight title in March 2023 plays a big part.

“Islam Makhachev’s ability to find that takedown and find that submission in his last title defense against Dustin Poirier is about as good as it gets,” Anik told Kevin Iole. “For me, he was the guy going in, so I don’t know that he loses that perch for me. I have always put 155 pounds on a pedestal. I do believe 155 pounds is the deepest division.

“And part of the reason why Ilia Topuria is getting Fighter of the Year consideration, and rightfully so over Alex Pereira, is because of the depth of his division. But for me, it is Islam Makhachev every day of the week. Jon Jones is in the conversation, but inactivity, I think, largely takes him out of the discourse.”

If Jones retires, Anik OK with it

Jones is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in the UFC 309 main event Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Both Jones and his coaches have hinted that he will retire after facing Miocic, and Anik thinks he shouldn’t get any flack if that does end up happening.

“If Jon Jones doesn’t fight Tom Aspinall after raising a 16th championship banner in Albuquerque, New Mexico in theory by beating Stipe Miocic, I don’t know that anybody would really judge him,” Anik said.

“Yes, the competitor that resides within Jon Jones, there could be no higher note upon which to go out than to beat either Tom Aspinall or Alex Pereira for Jon Jones, right? But the dude doesn’t need that high note. He’s the greatest of all time.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus has been handed a further two-game ban after admitting violent conduct following his red card against Tottenham Hotspur.

Kudus sparked a melee in the 82nd minute of the game as West Ham lost 4-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 19 October.

He was initially shown a yellow card for a foul on Micky van de Ven, but he proceeded to push both the Dutch defender and Pape Matar Sarr in the face.

The additional suspension extends his ban from three to five games, meaning he will be eligible to return against Leicester City on 3 December.

Kudus has also been fined £60,000 and West Ham were fined £30,000 for failing to control the behaviour of their players.

The Ghana international has scored two goals in eight Premier League appearances this season.

Cody Garbrandt and Miles Johns should hope the third time is a charm if they’re ever going to fight.

MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the change that Garbrandt has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled bantamweight bout against Johns, which was to take place at UFC Vegas 100 this Saturday. The news was first reported by BJPENN.com.

It is the second time Garbrandt and Johns have been booked to fight and seen their date fall through. The two were expected to fight at UFC Vegas 98 this past October, but the bout was moved to Nov. 9 for undisclosed reasons.

Officials are searching for a new opponent to face Johns on Saturday. It is not yet known if they will attempt to schedule Garbrandt vs. Johns again in the future.

Garbrandt competed once in 2024, losing to Deiveson Figueiredo via submission at UFC 300 this past April. For Johns, he looks to keep a win streak going after defeating his past three opponents (excluding one no-contest).

Damon Martin contributed to this report.

Despite his status as a political pariah four years ago, former President Donald Trump pulled off a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris as he was elected to another term Wednesday.

Trump’s win is being hailed as one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of American politics. He was considered an outcast in Washington after losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden – which he believed was stolen – before playing a part in thousands of his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Influential in Trump’s 2024 victory was UFC CEO Dana White, who has been among his biggest public supporters. Through the UFC, White gave Trump a platform to appeal to young, male voters, which played a big part in his re-election.

That was not lost on Trump, who invited White onstage to address his supporters Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Fla. White took the opportunity to revel in his good friend’s win.

“Nobody deserves this more than him, and nobody deserves this more than his family does,” White said. “This is what happens when the machine comes after you. What you’ve seen over the last several years, this is what it looks like. Couldn’t stop him, he keeps going forward, he doesn’t quit, he’s the most resilient, hard-working man I’ve ever met in my life, his family are incredible people.

“This is karma, ladies and gentlemen. He deserves this. They deserve it as a family.”

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 06: Dana White is invited to speak at Donald Trump’s rally celebrating his 2024 election win. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Before stepping away from the podium, White followed up those words by thanking a list of influencers/podcasters who welcomed Trump as a guest on their shows during the campaign –  the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Vonn, “Bussin’ with the Boys” (hosted by Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, and finally “the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan.”

Trump spent 3 hours on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the most popular podcast in the world hosted by the UFC commentator, on Oct. 25, less than two weeks before the election.