5 points to note from UFC 197

#4 The Pound for Pound Debate

Should the rankings be reversed?

In a card that was billed as featuring the consensus top two pound for pound fighters in the co-main and main events, the feeling entering UFC 197 was that this was a day for both Demetrious Johnson and Jon Jones to confirm that notion yet again.

But as always, in the fight game, a caveat is rather more common than in other sports.

While Demetrious Johnson and Jon Jones both arrived at Las Vegas the number 2 and number 1 pound for pound fighters respectively, Johnson’s dominant win and Jones’ less than impressive showing has given fresh voice to a notion only held in the most hardcore of MMA circles till now – that the rankings should in fact be reversed.

The emphatic manner in which Johnson dispatched Henry Cejudo, the last remaining challenging stylistic match-up for him in his division, stood out in stark contrast with with how Jones was dragged through the travails of all 5 rounds against Ovince St.Preux.

In a time where Conor McGregor’s attempts to engage in cavalier superfights in heavier weight divisions have been frowned upon by the discerning audience, it was indeed telling that the verdict at the end of the day as to what next for Demetrious Johnson, was almost unanimously a rematch with Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz.