Jon Jones is like the Michael Jordan of MMA as he dominated the sport, with a legendary run that no one’s truly overcome except for that one DQ loss, which feels more like a glitch in the matrix. Even UFC President Dana White’s fully on board, calling him the greatest ever to grace the octagon. But while White and fans love his reign, Ali Abdelaziz isn’t sold. He sees Jones as a fighter who plays it safe with decision wins, unlike Khabib Nurmagomedov, who’s more like the action-packed, no-holds-barred sequel, crushing everything in his path without dragging it out to the final round.
Recently, Ali Abdelaziz chatted with veteran Kevin Iole, where they talked about Islam Makhachev’s return to the buzz surrounding Tyson vs. Paul. As the conversation shifted to Jones being hailed as the greatest, especially with White’s constant hype, Iole pressed Ali on the matter. He asks if he sees Jones as a fighter who, like Khabib, rises to the occasion in high-stakes fights. In response, the manager downplays Jones’s legacy, criticizing him for relying too much on decision wins instead of finishing fights.
He said, “Khabib beat Conor. He finishes Poirier, finishes Gaethje, finishes someone else. But if you look at Jon Jones’ career, he won it with decision to decision. Back to back to back at Light Heavyweight arguably lost some of this decision.”
He further clarified that he isn’t trying to take away from Jones’ legacy, noting that with a long career like his, losses are inevitable. However, he argued that if the current Heavyweight champ stays in the game long enough, he might eventually face defeat—specifically against Tom Aspinall, who Ali Abdelaziz believes is currently the best heavyweight fighter out there.
Ali Abdelaziz Claims Belal Muhammad Deserves Higher P4P Ranking Than Jon Jones
While Abdelaziz doesn’t view Jones as performing at the same level as ‘The Eagle’, he still acknowledges him as an absolute legend of the sport. However, when it comes to the discussion of the current pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, Abdelaziz asserts that Jones is trailing behind Islam Makhachev. He even goes so far as to claim that Belal Muhammad is ahead of him in that ranking.
He said, “I don’t think it is Jon Jones even before Belal. I don’t think he is before the guys that have been active. He hasn’t fought for three years. You can not be a pound-for-pound number one.”
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The conversation about pound-for-pound rankings often boils down to personal bias. Abdelaziz doesn’t see Jones as worthy of that status. However, the UFC boss and many fans believe he’s the greatest of all time and the top pound-for-pound fighter.
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