Aljamain Sterling weighs in on Dana White passionately championing Jon Jones' G.O.A.T. status
Aljamain Sterling recently weighed in on Dana White's comments regarding Jon Jones' status as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The UFC CEO was passionately championing 'Bones' for that recognition during his post-event press conference this past Saturday.
White believed that there shouldn't be any debate regarding 'Bones' over Islam Makhachev as long as the heavyweight champion is still actively competing. His comments received a mixed response from the MMA community as the Dagestani has competed more frequently than Jones has.
Championship Rounds tweeted a clip from the former bantamweight champion's recent YouTube video, where he discussed the UFC CEO's comments. Sterling mentioned that he agreed with White regarding Jones over Makhachev and noted that pound-for-pound is based on skillset rather than weight. He said:
"For me, I agree [with White]. I think if we're talking pound-for-pound...Everyone's criteria is different but I think pound-for-pound would mean, the way I understand it is, if weight was not a factor, size wasn't a factor, skill for skill, who would be the best guy? And I agree, I think it's Jon Jones."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
Aljamain Sterling describes meaning of pound-for-pound
Aljamain Sterling described the meaning of pound-for-pound and noted that a lot of the debates are hypothetical because of the size discrepancies.
During the aforementioned episode, the former UFC bantamweight champion noted that it's very difficult to compare a lightweight to a heavyweight because there is no way to find out who is the better fighter. Sterling used Demetrious Johnson as an example to support his claim and mentioned that most of the time, the debates are settled by comparing the skill level of each competitor instead. He said:
"It's supposed to be if everything was equal and size was not a factor, we were all the same weight, skill-for-skill, who would win? 'Mighty Mouse', if you were to put him at 155-pounds, he beats a lot of those guys. You put him at 170 [pounds], he beats a lot of those guys...But then you get bigger, it's just a hypothetical thing. It can never happen because your speed wouldn't be the same if you're at 170-pounds." [39:43 - 40:07]
Check out Aljamain Sterling's full video below: