Khalil Rountree Jr. may have come up short against Alex Pereria at UFC 307 but ‘The War Horse’ had nothing but praise for his opponent after the bout. Despite being converted into a walking ‘Benadryl advertisement’, Rountree Jr. persisted and continued till the very end. He was so impressed by his opponent’s prowess, that he even dubbed ‘Poatan’ as the best P4P fighter, placing him above the official listed fighter, Islam Makhachev.

During his conversation with Kamaru Usman on the ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast, Rountree Jr. further explained, “I personally would also have to say, Alex Pereira! The one other person that I would say later on in the year would be Jon Jones. It’s been so long since we have seen Jones fight. I am excited to see what version of Jones we get.” However, ‘The War Horse’ isn’t only the one who feels that Pereira has done enough to earn this honor.

Kamaru Usman feels Alex Pereira has surpassed Islam Makhachev on the P4P rankings

Alex Pereira’s utter dominance and striking clinic have further cemented his claim as one of the best fighters in the world. In addition, his unreal activity as a champion has also raised his stock to an all-time high. It is evident that everyone from Kamaru Usman to Dana White is impressed. On his ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast with Henry Cejudo, the welterweight fighter echoed the same emotion, “Alex Pereira, I believe right now is the best pound-for-pound king. I believe so. You can say what you want, Henry [Cejudo], but I do believe he is the pound-for-pound king because of the way he can fight.”

Interestingly, Kamaru Usman and Islam Makhachev share the same manager in the form of Ali Abdelaziz and his statement about the Dagestani might be taken in a sour manner by the latter. It is safe to say that the ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ gave the Brazilian his nod and that’s quite a statement.

But can ‘Poatan’ really claim his spot on the top when he hasn’t faced the ‘real’ contender for his belt in the form of Magomed Ankalaev? In addition to this, Makhachev has twice defeated the previous P4P #1, Alexander Volkanovski to cement his claim as the best fighter in the world. Pereira may have had more dominant outings than the Dagestani but he certainly hasn’t cleared out his division yet. It will be interesting to see the trajectory of his career as a potential move to heavyweight is also on the books.

Talking about P4P, there have been many UFC legends who at one point or the other, have found themselves ruling at the top. But just like today’s age, these rankings have come under scrutiny for a variety of reasons.

A closer look at the P4P controversies over the years

The UFC has been witness to the combat symphony of numerous greats over the years. Ever since its genesis in 1993, the company has tried to be specific about its top guys at that particular moment in time. Therefore, an active list of the world’s best has been maintained to see what these fighters were doing during their stay in the MMA landscape.

As MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom has stated, “P4P list comprises a mix of analytics, subjective analysis and at times, promotional agenda”. The major factors that contribute include an athlete’s overall record, their finish rate, quality of opponents, and activity. But there have been controversial instances when this list has baffled fans and analysts alike.

Ever since he won the Light heavyweight title back in 2011, Jon Jones has found himself at the very top of P4P rankings for the majority of his career. This was until ‘Bones’ ran into his barrage of legal issues with USADA and even outside the cage. He was suspended for dr*g violations and stripped of his title on multiple occasions which led to him being dropped off the illustrious list altogether. However, the experts disagree on how to weigh his problems against his raw skills while making the list.

Similarly, In 2016, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson was at the top of this powers with 8 consecutive title defenses in the flyweight division. Despite this, Johnson was knocked off his P4P #1 by an ascending Conor McGregor who had just earned a second belt after he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. The MMA community was quite vocal about this shake-up as Mystic Mac’s wave of superstardom had outclassed Johnson’s long-time dominant run at the top of his division.

While not completely accurate, these ratings surely shape careers and public opinion and so are an important element of the fight game. What are your thoughts on Rountree Jr’s claims of Alex Pereira being the best? Do you believe Islam Makhachev belongs at the top? Drop your views in the comment section below!