I received into an fascinating change with UFC CEO Dana White within the aftermath of Islam Makhachev’s title protection in opposition to Poirier in the principle occasion, the place he completed the job with a fifth-round submission.
After White made it clear to MMA Combating’s Jose Youngs that he thought extremely of Makhachev, however didn’t assume he was No. 1 pound-for-pound forward of Jon Jones, I opted to press the difficulty a little bit bit and discover out what it will take to vary his rankings to get to the highest spot.
White was keen to interact me once I requested why Jones, who has fought as soon as since February 2020, will get the nod over Makhachev, who has competed eight occasions in that very same stretch, with wins over three opponents who’ve been current within the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings (Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski twice and Charles Oliveira). He stood behind his perception in Jones regardless.
In the long run, pound-for-pound lists are fully subjective, and in some ways meaningless. It’s been that manner endlessly in boxing, and it’s the identical in MMA. It’s an unimaginable metric to actually justify, and everybody goes to have completely different interpretations.
If White is so assured within the stance for his personal listing, then I’m not right here to evaluate. There is perhaps some flawed logic and whatnot, nevertheless it’s not essentially price getting labored up over, as a result of there’s no solution to absolutely show an argument.
There’s a powerful case for Jones to get the nod for his prolonged physique of labor. There’s additionally an ideal argument for Makhachev given what he’s achieved inside this 14-fight profitable streak. The upside for Makhachev is that he’s probably going to be energetic for for much longer than Jones going ahead, giving him extra time to strengthen his resume and argument.
Personally, although, I might at present place Makhachev over Jones. That’s not a slight to Jones in any respect. I’ve been across the sport for everything of his UFC tenure and his accomplishments should not misplaced on me. Nonetheless, in my very own interpretation of what pound-for-pound means, latest occasions are necessary, and the names Makhachev has crushed over the previous few years are unmatched.
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