The latest pound-for-pound rankings for mixed martial arts has been released and Jones Jones did not top the list.
Jones returned to action in December 2018, following a two-year fighting hiatus, and recaptured the light heavyweight championship in his rematch against Alexander Gustafsson.
He then made a pair of successful title-defences, beating Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos by way of decision.
Arguably the greatest fighter on the planet, he is the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship rankings as of August 19, 2019.
But in the latest P4P ratings made by MMA Junkie, Jones’ fellow UFC champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov gets the nod as the new king across all MMA.
Undefeated Champ
According to the list, Khabib’s win against Dustin Poirier in their unification bout last September proved to be crucial on his latest P4P ranking.
“Nurmagomedov proved his greatness once again, finishing a highly respected Dustin Poirier to remain undefeated, and a date with Tony Ferguson has been scheduled once again,” MMA Junkie wrote.
The Russian champion remains undefeated in 28 professional fights and currently holds the longest win streak in the UFC’s lightweight division.
Completing the top 5 in the MMA P4P rankings are Henry Cejudo, who is in the third spot after becoming a two-weight champion, former two-division champion Daniel Cormier places fourth, while former UFC star, Demetrious Johnson earned the fifth spot.
“Cejudo is now just the fourth fighter in UFC history to hold ‘champ-champ’ status, though he’s happy to remind you he’s the only one who also won a gold medal.”
But Cejudo has been recently stripped of his flyweight belt as he is expected to sit out until early 2020 due to shoulder injury.
Surprise Names
Among the biggest surprises in the list is newly-crowned UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, who is at number 11.
“Volkanovski has said from the beginning that he deserved to be considered among the world’s best, and now he is, cracking the pound-for-pound list for the first time,” MMA Junkie noted.
The Australian fighter kept his winning streak alive after outstriking Max Holloway at UFC 245 to win the featherweight belt.
The Hawaiian fan-favourite is one place behind Volkanovski at number 12 while Kamaru Usman and Tony Ferguson clinches the top 9 and top 10 respectively.
Ryan Bader is the lone Bellator fighter to crack the list as he places on the sixth spot.
Check out the complete list below:
1.Khabib Nurmagomedov
2.Jon Jones
3. Henry Cejudo
4. Daniel Cormier
5. Demetrious Johnson
6. Ryan Bader
7. Stipe Miocic
8. Israel Adesanya
9. Kamaru Usman
10. Tony Ferguson
11. Alexander Volkanovski
12. Max Holloway
13. Robert Whittaker
14. Tyron Woodley
15. Dustin Poirier
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Henry Cejudo and Jon Jones)