Islam Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz made a ridiculous claim about Jon Jones' position in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings.
Islam Makhachev and Jon Jones are undoubtedly two of the greatest fighters in MMA today, and both make strong arguments in the discussions of all time. Makhachev returns to the Octagon at UFC 311 and has the opportunity to add more distance to his status as the UFC's pound-for-pound king.
Jones, who dismantled former UFC heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, is a popular choice for the UFC's greatest fighter of all time. But after low activity since 2020, Jones' case as the current pound-for-pound king is complicated.
Since capturing the UFC lightweight title at UFC 280, Makhachev has held on to the title with little resistance aside from a Fight of the Year candidate against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. His most recent win over Dustin Poirier resulted in a late-round finish after surviving Poirier's early boxing attacks.
UFC CEO Dana White has made his position clear in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings as he has repeatedly touted Jones as the deserving No. 1 fighter. While Makhachev and his team disagree with that assessment, his manager went one step further at UFC 311.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Islam Makhachev's manager takes a bold look at Jon Jones' pound-for-pound case
During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz responded to White's pound-for-pound shots.
“Dana is right about a lot of things, but Dana is wrong,” Abdelaziz said of the pound-for-pound debate between Makhachev and Jones. 'But Dana is also a great promoter. What can he promote about Jon Jones? Nothing. An old man who has hidden. He needs to promote him so that people care about him. And it's the only thing he uses.
“He's using Islam Makhachev to promote Jon Jones. Islam doesn't need Jon Jones to get promoted… the amount of hard work and dedication, the finishes, the achievements. He doesn't… Islam doesn't care about pound for pound, it only cares about beating people's asses, and that's it. Jon Jones beats guys who are one-dimensional fighters…grandfathers. Right now I don't think he's in the Top 5.”
As of this writing, Jones has not responded to Abdelaziz's comments. He is in active negotiations to return to the Octagon later this year, likely against interim titleholder Tom Aspinall.
Islam Makhachev could increase the distance between him and Jon Jones at UFC 311
In the meantime, Makhachev is just under two weeks away from facing Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC 311 main event in Los Angeles. He will headline the UFC's first pay-per-view card of 2025 and will look to make another statement inside the cage.
Since making the full-time move to heavyweight, Jones defeated Ciryl Gane for the then-vacant title before defending it against Miocic at UFC 309. Adding to his UFC GOAT case is Jones' push to overturn his disqualification loss to Matt Hamill due to a recent change in MMA's uniform rules.
Makhachev, Jones and UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira are atop the UFC rankings, pound-for-pound. While it is not clear what the rankings will look like by the end of 2025, a debate rages over the rankings.
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