The manager of UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev has a firm take on Jon Jones’ pound-for-pound worthiness.
Debates over the P4P rankings don’t appear to have been left in 2024, with the discussion over who deserves top spot continuing to rage on into the new year.
The conversation picked up when Dana White rejected the official order, which has Makhachev on the throne. For the UFC CEO, the obvious pick is Jones, who returned from a lengthy layoff to achieve two-division glory up at heavyweight in 2023.
That stance has received plenty of pushback, largely down to the Rochester native’s inactivity and avoidance of interim champ Tom Aspinall in order to face Stipe Miocic last November.
Among those unsurprisingly backing the Dagestani’s claim is his manager. And more than just putting Jones below Makhachev, Ali Abdelaziz doesn’t even see a case for the heavyweight king holding a spot inside the top five.
“Listen, Dana all the time says Jon Jones is the pound-for-pound best. I think Dana’s wrong,” Abdelaziz told Kevin Iole. “Islam finished nine of his last 11 opponents. He beat the No. 1 P4P, the No. 3 P4P guy; he beat everyone who is really good in their prime.
“In (Jones’) time, he was the P4P (best). If you say all-time, he might be the greatest (of) all-time,” Abdelaziz continued. “But right now, I don’t think (Jones) is top five. You can’t beat Ciryl Gane and beat Stipe and be in the top five. … Islam right now is the best.”
Makhachev will soon have the time to further cement his grip on the title of P4P king, with the Dagestani set to defend his lightweight belt against a previous opponent in Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of next weekend’s UFC 311 pay-per-view.
Jones, meanwhile, has uncertainty surrounding his career. While White ‘guaranteed’ that any return to action would come against Aspinall in 2025, it remains to be seen whether “Bones” and the promotion will agree on terms for the unification clash to come to fruition.
