Khabib Nurmagomedov Names Jon Jones As The Best UFC Pound-For-Pound Fighter

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that Jon Jones rightfully deserves to be ahead of him as UFC's best pound-for-pound fighter.

UFC legend Jones, 32, will end 2019 on top of UFC's official pound-for-pound rankings ahead of lightweight champ Khabib.

When he was asked who is UFC's best pound-for-pound fighter, Khabib simply responded: "Jon Jones."

And the 31-year-old Dagestan superstar's response was met with applause from those in attendance.

Jones has only lost once inside the octagon as a result of a controversial DQ decision in his 2009 clash with Matt Hamill.

And 'Bones' also had his KO victory over Daniel Cormier in their second fight overturned to a no contest after he tested positive for turinabol.

Despite his controversies in combat sports, Jones is widely placed in the same conversation as fellow UFC legend Georges St-Pierre as the best fighter in MMA history.

The current light heavyweight champ fought twice in 2019 and successfully defended his title against Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos.

Jones will now return to the octagon at UFC 247 on 8th February against Dominick Reyes.

Khabib, who ranked ahead of Jones in another MMA pound-for-pound ratings, holds an unblemished record of 28 victories in MMA.

And even UFC president Dana White has admitted that the 'Eagle' is only a couple of fights away from achieving 'GOAT status' in MMA.

Khabib will return to the octagon at UFC 249 on 18th April in his hotly-anticipated clash with Tony Ferguson.

However, the UFC star has also admitted that he is "very close" to his retirement from MMA.

"Well, we don't have a plan for when we're going to finish, but I do know it is not over the mountains, as they say," he said during a Q&A session in Russia.

"That time is very close. I don't want to think about the future, I still have to live to April, I still have to fight, I need to win.

"So, I don't like to look too far ahead. Now we have an opponent, Tony Ferguson, a very serious opponent.

"And I think it's necessary to have this fight [and] then we'll sit down and think about what's next."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/UFC

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, eagle, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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