Islam Makhachev, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, has outperformed Jon Jones to become the top pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC rankings. This ranking assesses a fighter’s skill irrespective of their weight class. The UFC has acknowledged Makhachev’s achievement by updating its rankings, with Makhachev now leading ahead of Jones. Khabib Nurmagomedov describes Makhachev’s rise to the pound-for-pound ranking as an exceptional case.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Acknowledges Islam Makhachev’s Pound-for-Pound Success
After Islam Makhachev’s successful title defense against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294, where he scored a first-round knockout via a headkick, he initially stayed in the second position in the pound-for-pound (P4P) rankings.
However, he has now officially moved to the top spot in the latest UFC men’s P4P rankings, surpassing Jon Jones.
Khabib posted on social media, sharing his thoughts on Islam’s top position in the pound-for-pound rankings.
On Instagram Khabib posted a photo with Islam and in caption wrote, “It’s an unprecedented case when two fighters, raised from childhood by the same coach, in the same city, in the same gym, trained side-by-side for a long time – become singleweight champions in the best league in the world @ufc
And also both became the best fighters regardless of the weight category of their time.
And believe me it’s not a full stop, @islam_makhachev continues to make history…
Alhamdulillah for everything, sometimes things happen to us and we think we are so great, but wallaghi it’s all a test and test from Almighty and one day it can all vanish as if nothing happened.
Be thankful and know that everything comes from the Almighty good and bad and all that brought you from above are historical facts unprecedented in this sport.”
This change in ranking happened because the heavyweight champion withdrew from his planned fight against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 due to a shoulder injury sustained by Jones before the fight.
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Khabib and Islam celebrated Islam’s achievement, highlighting their longstanding friendship and training history. In the Pound for Pound rankings, Islam Makhachev is now at the pinnacle, marking a significant milestone.
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