Khabib Nurmagomedov elevated as pound-for-pound best; Jon Jones disagrees

Khabib Nurmagomedov is the best mixed martial arts fighter in the world, according to the UFC.

Nurmagomedov successfully defended his UFC lightweight world title against Justin Gaethje this past weekend in the main event of UFC 254, where he won by way of second-round submission.

He announced his retirement shortly after the fight, citing that there was nothing left to prove and the loss of his late father, Abdulmanap. He walked away with an unblemished record of 29-0.

 

 

 

 

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It was work of my life, I never got anything easy, and nothing was given to me because I’m nice guy. Hard work, hope for Allah and patience, this three ingredient helps me to get successful, and of course, control and advises from my Father, who invested in me a lot of time and work. - ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ?????, ? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????, ? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ???. ??????? ????, ??????? ?? ?????? ? ????????, ??? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ? ?????? ? ??????? ?? ?????????? ???????? ? ?????? ????, ??????? ?????? ? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ? ?????.

A post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on

Oct 27, 2020 at 6:25am PDT

“It was work of my life, I never got anything easy, and nothing was given to me because I’m nice guy,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram.

“Hard work, hope for Allah and patience, this three ingredient helps me to get successful, and of course, control and advises from my Father, who invested in me a lot of time and work.”

Nurmagomedov’s elevation to the No. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings dropped the former UFC light heavyweight world champion Jon Jones to number two—and the latter was unhappy about it.

This is number one bullshit https://t.co/Mtkvyc32NZ

— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 27, 2020

“This is number one bullsh*t,” Jones commented on Twitter.

Furthermore, Jones also argues that Nurmagomedov is not the greatest of all time to step inside the cage.

“Unanimous decision over last minute replacement Al Iaquinta to become champion Conor McGregor is the only opponent he’s ever had that the general public actually knew,” said Jones.

Unanimous decision over last minute replacement Al Iaquinta to become champion????????‍?? Conor McGregor is the only opponent he’s ever had that the general public actually knew. Catapulted my man to becoming the best ever, this is hilarious

— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 27, 2020

“Catapulted my man to becoming the best ever, this is hilarious.”

Whether Nurmagomedov was the best of all time to grace the sport of mixed martial arts will remain a discussion for decades to come.

For now, what is certain is that Nurmagomedov had left a huge impact on the sport as one of the most dominant if not the most dominant champion the UFC has ever had. – JM Siasat/RC, GMA News