Jon Jones' on Khabib Nurmagomedov taking his UFC pound-for-pound number 1 spot: 'This is number one bulls**t'
Former UFC LHW champion Jon Jones is not impressed with the latest UFC pound for pound rankings which have the recently retired Khabib Nurmagomedov at the top.
Khabib had earlier in the week shocked the entire mixed martial fraternity when he announced his retirement following his submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. While Jon Jones was one of the first fighters to congratulate him on his storied career, he disagreed with Khabib’s claim to be crowned the number one pound for pound fighter.
UFC had earlier in the day released its latest pound for pound ratings which have Khabib at the top. Jon Jones tweeted his displeasure over this calling the rankings “Number one bullsh*t”. It is worth noticing that Jon Jones used a phrase made famous by Khabib to discredit the rankings.
In the process, Jon Jones lost his top pound for pound rank for the first time in years and is now placed second in the rankings.
It is also worth noticing, however, that Jon Jones holds the record for most UFC wins in title fights at 14.
Additionally, barring a controversial DQ loss to Matt Hamill early in his UFC career, Jones is practically undefeated in the promotion.
He also holds two noticeable wins over Khabib’s long time training partner and closest friend Daniel Cormier - one of which was overturned into a No Contest after Jones tested positive for PEDs.
“Bones” however had attracted criticism for his last three performances while defending his LHW crown. His wins over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos both came by the way of decisions and his performance was lackluster, to say the least.
His last outing saw him narrowly edge past Dominick Reyes for another decision win. However, many experts and fans alike believe that it was, in fact, Reyes who should have emerged victorious in that fight.
Jon Jones contemplates move to heavyweight
Since relinquishing his LHW title Jon Jones has been looking for his next opponent.
Jones has been involved in a stinging war of words with current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and both have shown interest in a super fight.
However, with Robert Whittaker earning a shot at Israel, that fight seems unlikely to come to fruition.
Additionally, it is expected that Jones will move up to heavyweight to fight the winner of Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou in March of 2021.