Islam Makhachev Mocks Jon Jones Resume Amid Pound-For-Pound No.1 Debate

June 6, 2024

2 minutes read

Highlights

There is an ongoing debate in MMA right now regarding who the UFC’s pound-for-pound No.1 fighter is.
The UFC’s official rankings suggest Islam Makhachev is, yet UFC boss Dana White is pushing for Jon Jones to have that claim.
Makhachev, meanwhile, appeared to mock Jones’ resume, particularly when comparing it to his own.

A huge talking point coming out of this past weekend’s UFC 302 event has been Dana White‘s comments at the post-fight press conference, shutting down Islam Makhachev‘s claim of being pound-for-pound No.1 in the world and instead, saying that title belongs to Jon Jones. The Russian disagreed with White’s claim at the post-fight presser and has now mocked Jones’ resume since 2021, in a new Instagram story post.

Dana White Explains Why Jon Jones is P4P No. 1 Over Islam Makhachev

Dana White has explained why he thinks Jon Jones should be P4P No.1 instead of Islam Makhachev.

Islam Makhachev Responds to The Ongoing Pound-For-Pound Debate

Makhachev sits one place above Jon Jones in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings

Despite Islam Makhachev making his third successful UFC lightweight title defense against Dustin Poirier on Saturday, it is not the Russian’s performance which is dominating the headlines in the MMA world. It, instead, is Dana White’s comments at the presser. White acknowledged that Makhachev is one of the greatest fighters of all time but heavily disputed him being the pound-for-pound No.1 over Jon Jones.

“I think he’s one of the greatest of all time. I think he’s incredible. I don’t think he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. For anyone to call Islam the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world when Jon Jones is still f****** fighting is nuts and shouldn’t be ranking in the pound-for-pound, or doing any of the f****** rankings ever if that’s what you really think.”

After hearing White’s comments, Makhachev said he rescued the UFC 302 card as, he claimed, the fights on the rest of the card were boring and he, alongside Poirier, put on a spectacle.

Since then, White’s comments have ignited a huge debate on social media from fans and fighters about who is actually the No.1 fighter on the planet — is it Jon Jones, the two-weight UFC champion, or Makhachev, the reigning and undisputed force at 155 pounds?

Makhachev seems certain it is him as he posted the following to Instagram recently, comparing his and Jones’ resumes since 2021:

The clear point Makhachev is one regarding activity. For, while Jones has fought just once since 2021, Makhachev, by contrast, has seemingly run a gauntlet. Makhachev has fought eight times as opposed to Jones fighting just once against Ciryl Gane. Jones’ last fight came well over a year ago when he defeated Gane to become the new heavyweight champion. Jones will not return to the Octagon until later this year where he will seemingly face Stipe Miocic.

For some, Jones is the greatest of all time in MMA. However, there is a difference between being the GOAT, and being pound-for-pound No.1, which is more a question of ‘What have you done lately?’

While the UFC’s own official rankings, together with Makhachev’s post on social, seem to dispute White’s notion that Jones is the No.1, Jones reacted positively to White’s support.