The top two pound-for-pound UFC fighters tend to agree: a fighter’s legacy is created by title defenses and reigning over a single division.
This Saturday at UFC 242, Khabib Nurmagomedov will look to successfully defend his lightweight championship belt for the second time when he battles Dustin Poirier. If successful, Khabib will then look to continue adding to his defense tally instead of following the trend of fighters who have sought to become multi-division champions.
Light heavyweight champion and #1 pound-for-pound fighter Jon Jones has also stated that division dominance is his chief priority, as did former UFC pound-for-pound titan Demetrious Johnson. It appears most fighters who make it to the top of the pound-for-pound list have done so with long-term dominance over their divisions, and Khabib Nurmagomedov plans to be no different (Transcript via MMA Fighting):
“I think if you want to improve your legacy by changing weight classes, I don’t think this is help for you,” Nurmagomedov said on a recent conference call. “Only one thing helps for you. You have to beat up-and-comers. What about when you beat tough opponents and you’re still undefeated more than the others. I think this is going to improve your legacy.”
Ultimately, Nurmgagomedov believes it is consistency and the absence of defeat is what separates the best of the best from the other top-tier fighters:
“If you lose couple times and you win one title, second title, you lose again, and then you win third title, this does not make you great,” Nurmagomedov said. “My opinion, when you’re undefeated long time and you never lose, this is when it’s real thing.
“… When you go to the cage and again, again, again, you win, win, win, win, that helps to talk about ‘this guy is tough’. I don’t focus on welterweight or featherweight, my focus is the lightweight division.”
What do you think better helps a fighter’s legacy? Dominating a division for years or winning multiple titles across weight divisions?
