Why Demetrious Johnson ranks Islam Makhachev as pound-for-pound best

One of the GOATs of MMA, Demetrious Johnson, believes pound-for-pound rankings boil down to the total skillset a particular fighter possesses.

Pound-for-pound debates can quickly get convoluted because everyone has slightly different criteria to shake out the hypothetical rankings. Johnson considers activity, championship status, and recency, but nothing tops being a well-rounded fighter.

“MMA is the easiest sport in the world to become a world champion,” Johnson told MMA Junkie Radio. “Like, you can suck, you can not have a – you can have such holes in your game and become a world champion.”

Johnson knows a thing or two about being a well-rounded fighter. Throughout his legendary championship run in the UFC, he defended his title by various submissions, knockouts and decisions. Simply put, “Mighty Mouse” was a problem for his opponents anywhere the fight would go. Johnson humbly acknowledges the total skillset he presented in the cage, and sees a lot of that in UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev.

“Right now, Islam Makhachev is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world right now,” Johnson said. “He can strike, he can grapple, he has judo, he has jiu-jitsu. He’s battled adversity. He is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. Jon Jones is right after that, because he can do it all. He’s battled adversity, he’s grappled people. He’s been in the game for a very, very long time.”

For some, capturing a title in a second weight class is tipping point for their pound-for-pound arguments. Makhachev hasn’t had the opportunity to do that just yet, but should the landscape change at 170 pounds because he won’t fight the current champ Belal Muhammad.

Johnson recently spent time with Makhachev and his camp on the mats, and believes his skills will translate to the top of the division, should he ever make a change in the future.

“When I trained with him and seen how big he was at that time, he’s forcing his – I think he’ll be fine at 170,” Johnson said. “I truly believe so. The only thing he’s going to have to make up a difference for is just the size and the weight. For someone who’s well-rounded and has so many wins in different areas knocking people out and submitting them and all that stuff, I think he’ll be fine.”