UFC 258 Reaction And Pound-For-Pound Rankings
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) via bloodyelbow
Kamaru Usman solidified himself as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world with a dominant win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 over the weekend. The matchup between two former teammates and longtime friends was much anticipated, but as Usman said in his pre-fight hype videos: Burns is nowhere near his level, yet, and no one will be for a loooong time.
Not only did Usman confirm he is one of the best in the business right now, he has also entered his name into the all-time greats conversation. This was Usman’s 13th straight victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, enough for the 2nd-best win streak in UFC history behind only Anderson “The Spider” Silva (16). Usman is now tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St. Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones (14th win was revoked) and Max Holloway for the longest UFC win streak -- some pretty elite company.
All those guys I just listed are already considered some of the greatest fighters to step foot in the octagon, so where does Usman rank right now? The Nigerian Nightmare got his nickname for a reason, just stepping in the octagon with him would be a challenge in of itself.
In every weight division, there is always one or two guys that just look ripped and menacing as hell. Usman is one of those guys. He could probably flick me and my ribs would snap in half. Good thing I’m a writer and not a fighter.
Enough of me fangirling over Usman, let’s get down to it. Watching UFC 258 and hearing all this talk about where fighters stand in the pound-for-pound discussion got me thinking. You can follow UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings all you want, but this kind of stuff is entirely subjective. With that being said, here are my top five pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC after this weekends fights:
1. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Do I even need to explain why? There are levels to this game, and Khabib is on top. It’s not even close. UFC President Dana White has hinted at the possibility of Khabib coming out of retirement, so I wouldn’t count him out just yet.
A huge gap
Just to emphasize how good Khabib really is.
2. Israel Adesanya
The Stylebender is arguably the most technical striker to ever grace the UFC and is the best active fighter in the promotion. Adesanya talks a big game in his pre-fight pressers and backs it up every time against other world-class fighters. His last five victims include Paulo Costa, Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, Kelvin Gastelum and Anderson Silva -- that’s one hell of a list. The public seem to love doubting Adesanya when he matches up against stockier, more bulked up guys like Costa and Romero, but the stylebender is just too damn good despite his unusually slender build for the middleweight division. He is set to take on current Light Heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz on March 6, and if he wins he will become only the fifth fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously(Middleweight & Light Heavyweight).
3. Kamaru Usman
Before UFC 258 I would have ranked Usman below the big man Stipe Miocic, but after that performance it’s a close call. The Nigerian Nightmare has never been the most entertaining guy in the UFC, but he is certainly one of the most fundamental fighters in the world. One of my favorite things about Usman is his innate ability to take his opponent completely out of their game and scramble their pre-fight strategies. Not to mention he has an absurd 100% takedown defense through 12 UFC fights. Not even a Jiu Jitsu world champion like Gilbert Burns could take him down, but you bet your ass he tried. In Usman’s post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he said that “anyone of these fools can get it,” but “He [Jorge Masivdal] keeps running his mouth so step in here and come see me.” Usman has beaten Masvidal once already, and I don’t see the fight panning out any different if a rematch were to happen. Gamebred is good, but not Usman good.
4. Stipe Miocic
You can’t have a best pound-for-pound fighter list and not include Stipe, the dude has fought in seven consecutive heavyweight title bouts including a legendary trilogy with Daniel Cormier(Stipe won ⅔). Stipe has been in the UFC for a decade now and has spent four years of that span as the champ, so it’s safe to say he is one of the best in the business.
This generally has nothing to do with his skillset as a fighter, but man Stipe has got to be the most boring looking person I’ve ever seen. I honestly don’t think he’s ever smiled. His face is stuck looking like a disappointed father after finding his kids stash. Either way, the dude has hands.
5. Francis Ngannou
This selection might not be as popular as the rest on my list, but I firmly believe that Ngannou is a top five fighter in the world. Ngannou has only lost two of his 12 UFC bouts, and they came back-to-back against Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018. After his two fight slump, Ngannou bounced back better than ever with four consecutive first round KO/TKO victories that had an average fight time of 40.5 seconds. That’s absurd. The only chance anyone has against The Predator is if they make it past the first round, which I don’t think anyone in the heavyweight division will do for a long time. That’s a bit of a bold statement considering Ngannou is set to fight Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight belt on March 27, but I’m ready to see him take over this division. Even if it doesn’t happen against Stipe next month, Ngannou’s time as champion will come.
Honorable Mentions: Alexander Volkanovski & Dustin Poirier
You may have noticed there is a significant name missing from this list, but I chose to leave that doping piece of shit Jon Jones out of the conversation because there is no room for cheaters at the top. Disagree all you want, but his legacy is tarnished from my perspective.
I’m anxiously awaiting whatever is next for Usman and the rest of the guys on this list. The UFC has been putting out some amazing fight cards as of late and the lineup for the next few months looks promising. We’ve got Adesanya vs Blachowicz, Blaydes vs Lewis, Yan vs Sterling, Nunes vs Anderson and Miocic vs Ngannou all within the next two months, just to name a few.
Dana White may have an enormous stick up his ass when it comes to people live streaming events rather than buying his precious Pay Per View, but god damn he knows how to put on a show.