Alexander Volkanovski current P4P king over Kamaru Usman, says John McCarthy
'Big' John McCarthy believes Alexander Volkanovski has surpassed Kamaru Usman as the top pound-for-pound (P4P) fighter in the UFC.
Volkanovski is coming off a huge career milestone after defeating rival Max Holloway in their championship trilogy bout on Saturday. Unlike the first two fights, their UFC 276 bout wasn't competitive at all as Volkanovski dominated Holloway to solidify himself as the undisputed best featherweight in the world.
As things stand, Volkanovski is second in the P4P rankings, behind Usman. However, McCarthy believes that Volkanovski has made a compelling case for being the top P4P fighter in the UFC.
During a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, the former UFC referee said:
"I'm gonna say it right now. I'm gonna be slammed, but that's okay. Kamaru Usman is a phenomenal fighter, [but] Volkanovski is the pound-for-pound best fighter there is right now. He dominates great fighters."
McCarthy also explained Volkanovski's tremendous improvement over the years. The Bellator MMA color commentator continued:
"[Alexander Volkanovski] has gotten so much better since he's become champion. He's a much better fighter now than when he first fought Max Holloway and took that title. He's gotten faster, his combinations are better. If you go and watch his first fight against Max, the speed was fairly close. You look at his second fight with Max, it wasn't even close."
Catch John McCarthy's comments below:
Alexander Volkanovski joins Kamaru Usman in an exclusive club
Alexander Volkanovski has joined a prestigious club after his latest victory at UFC 276. He became the fourth fighter in UFC history to win his first 12 fights in the promotion, joining all-time greats Anderson Silva, Kamaru Usman, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
His longtime rival, Max Holloway, even hailed the Australian as the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. A day after their momentous title bout, 'Blessed' took to social media to congratulate his rival:
"I'm still up 2-0 on knockdowns for trilogy," Holloway wrote on Facebook. "Prob gonna need a 4th to settle this. Just playing. Congrats to my brother @alexvolkanovski. Go get that 55 strap. You earned the shot. You're #1 P4P right now. To all the fans do not cry for me Argentina. This is part of life. We need to rebuild and we will. I love you!"
Check out Max Holloway's post: