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Islam Makhachev wasn’t pulling any punches when he slammed the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings ahead of his second fight against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. He questioned why Jon Jones held the top spot, calling it unfair and flat-out wrong.
Makhachev’s take was simple that a champion has to fight without excuses. He pointed out that Jones hadn’t beaten top-ranked fighters recently, while Makhachev was active, taking out strong contenders like Charles Oliveira and Volkanovski.
Makhachev also claimed that he’s done worrying about rankings. Speaking at the UFC 294 pre-fight media scrum, he said:
“This is what a UFC champion has to do. Like a real champion. If you’re a real champion you have to take the fight, it doesn’t matter how many days, who it’s going to be, not like your pound-for-pound champion [Jon Jones] when they gave him Chael Sonnen. When you’re a real champion, you have to fight.”
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He added:
"They put him number one, the number one guy right now. Who [has he] beat, who [has] he beat in last five fights? We don't have some name from top pound-for-pound rankings. And I just want to say about the rankings, about all these things. This is bulls*hit and I don't follow this anymore."
Check out Islam Makhachev's comments below:
Ian Machado Garry details path to superfight with Islam Makhachev
Ian Machado Garry has a clear vision of how he can face Islam Makhachev. Currently ranked No. 7 in the welterweight division, Garry has his sights set on Makhachev, the reigning lightweight champion.
Makhachev has expressed his desire to become a two-division champion, but a potential roadblock is his training partner, Belal Muhammad, who holds the 170-pound title. Garry recently secured a backup spot for the UFC 315 main event after defeating Carlos Prates.
Garry aims to defend his title against Makhachev, take the pound-for-pound No. 1 spot, then go on to avenge a loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov in a future matchup. Speaking at the UFC Kansas City post-fight press conference, Garry said:
“There’s a certain pound-for-pound No. 1 who wants to come up, and his name is Islam Makhachev. I have nothing but love and respect for that man and his style, and it’d be an honor to share the octagon with him. I would love to go out there and prove against him in my first title defense that I’m the P4P No. 1. I beat him, I take that status. I win my first title defense, and then Shavkat [Rakhmonov] gets the rematch. And I’m gonna go out there, and I am going to dismantle that man and prove that he never won that fight. And that’s my next three fight plan. That’s how I see it going, and I don’t want it any other way.”
Check out Ian Garry's comments below (11:00):
