Advertisement
The Takedown | Sorry Jon Jones, Khabib deserves UFC pound-for-pound No 1 spot, especially if he hangs around to go 30-0
- Former light heavyweight champ can gripe all he wants but Nurmagomedov has earned his place at top of the pile
- Dagestani’s dominance marks him out as best in the business until he officially vacates lightweight title
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Khabib Nurmagmedov got his wish last week. The lightweight champ leapfrogged Jon Jones and can now be found at the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. You can call it sentimental if you like. You could also call it absolutely warranted.
Advertisement
The man he replaced seems to disagree – former UFC light heavyweight champ Jones (26-1, one no contest) reacted to the news by tweeting, “This is number one b*******.”
But what happened at UFC 254 on October 25 in Abu Dhabi will go down as one of the most iconic nights in the history of MMA.
Few could have anticipated Nurmagomedov’s retirement after his second-round submission win vs Justin Gaethje (22-3). UFC president Dana White has since suggested the 32-year-old Dagestan native could have one more fight after all and stressed there are no plans to make him vacate his title .
In many ways, one last dance would make sense. It was widely accepted he would sign off with the perfect symmetry of a 30-0 record.
Advertisement
Advertisement