In order to move up to the number one spot in the pound-for-pound rankings, Jon Jones had to make a significant leap. On the other hand, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez has a different opinion, and in his view, Islam Makhachev deserves to be ranked number one.
Jon Jones fought Cyril Gane, the heavyweight division’s number-one ranked fighter, at UFC 285, which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Bones won the bout against ‘Bon Gamin’ with absolute ease, and as a result, he moved up to the number one spot in the most recently published p4p ranking.
𝑷𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫-𝑭𝑶𝑹-𝑷𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫 𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 👑@JonnyBones is officially the NEW #1 UFC P4P fighter 🏆 pic.twitter.com/d8U6HinUkK
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) March 8, 2023
Just a month ago, in another exciting event, Islam Makhachev fought Alexander Volkanovski at the RAC Arena in Perth for the highly anticipated lightweight battle. This fight was part of the main card for the UFC 284 event. Islam successfully defended his lightweight title against the Australian by claiming a unanimous decision victory.
Islam was ranked second in the previous p4p rating, while Volk was ranked first. Following Bones’ stunning victory over the Frenchman, both Islam and Volk had to take a step back to allow Jones to become the p4p king.
Who is Javier Mendez’s No.1 P4Pfighter?
Islam’s coach Javier had a different take on the new p4p standings. The former ISKA kickboxing World Champion shared his view in a recent interview when he was at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Javier was there to be at the corner for Usman Nurmagomedov’s fight at Bellator 292.
Usman Nurmagomedov with Islam Makhachev after submitting Ben Henderson via rear naked choke in the first round to retain his lightweight championship(📷Bellator MMA) #Bellator292 #bellatormma #ufc pic.twitter.com/hkOOGoK1bq
— Legionnaire Combat Sports (@Legionnairecsn) March 11, 2023
Makhachev the current lightweight champion of UFC was also there to be at the corner for his fellow Dagestani fighter. According to the 52-year-old mixed martial arts coach never in the history of MMA, an active UFC champion and P4P #1 cornered an active Bellator champion.
Mendez clearly meant Islam when he referred to active P4P #1, despite the fact that Jones currently holds the position officially. Makhachev (24-1 MMA) was in fact largely predicted to be the new pound-for-pound top fighter when he defeated the reigning featherweight champion.
After his win at #UFC285 , Jon Jones is now P4P #1 in the UFC 👀
per @JohnMorgan_MMA pic.twitter.com/eY7ryfSiTS
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 7, 2023
Who, among Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones, and Alexander Volkanovski, in your opinion, more righteously deserves to be regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world at the moment, keeping rankings out of the discussion? Share your valuable opinion in the comment section.
