UFC Release New Rankings as Khabib Nurmagomedov Vacates Officially- Jon Jones the New Pound-for-Pound King

The #1 pound-for-pound fighter, Khabib Nurmagomedov, has officially retired from the fight game. ‘The Eagle’ topped the pound-for-pound ranking after he defeated Justin Gaethje in his last fight on Fight Island. The former pound-for-pound number one fighter was Jon Jones, with an impressive record of 26 wins and 1 loss.

‘Bones’ has fought 15 times for the Light Heavyweight Title and won 14 times with 1 no-contest. The no-contest occurred when he fought Daniel Cormier at UFC 214.

Aaron Bronsteter, an MMA reporter, has shared an image on Twitter, showcasing the new pound-for-pound list, plus the new Lightweight rankings.

‘The Diamond’ is shining bright at number one. However, the division is left with no champion after the retirement of Nurmagomedov. Even then, Poirier will not fight for the title as he was moving ahead with a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor. The fight has been delayed for now and does not have any confirmed dates. The division needs a champion as soon as possible.

UFC has set a fight between Oliveira and Chandler for the vacant title.

This fight has been scheduled for May, and a guaranteed new champ will be crowned.

Pound for pound ranking will not change until Jon Jones is around

The new rankings as shared by Aaron Bronsteter show that Jon Jones has retained his throne and is the new number one pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

At number two, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has arrived with 18 victories and 1 defeat. Kamaru Usman is the current Welterweight champion. Usman is looking to add one more victory to his name in his fourth title defense at UFC 261. But even if he wins the fight, there is a good chance that the pound-for-pound number one will remain unchanged.

Following these two is Stipe Miocic, the Heavyweight champ. Stipe Miocic will fight Francis Ngannou next, and the winner of this fight will fight Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. If Miocic beats both Ngannou and Jones, only then will we see a shuffling around in the pound-for-pound rankings.

Also read: Conor McGregor Destroys Eddie Alvarez on Twitter for Questioning $150 Million Status

From the list now, we know the pound-for-pound rankings will not change anytime soon, or at least as long as Jon Jones is around.