Sports
March 25, 2025 10:19 pm ET
One of the vital GOATs of MMA, Demetrious Johnson, believes pound-for-pound rankings boil down to the overall skillset a explicit fighter possesses.
Pound-for-pound debates can quickly accumulate convoluted because everyone has a minute bit tons of requirements to shake out the hypothetical rankings. Johnson considers project, championship living, and recency, nonetheless nothing tops being a well-rounded fighter.
“MMA is the most sharp sport in the arena to turn into a world champion,” Johnson informed MMA Junkie Radio. “Like, you would suck, you would no longer procure a – it is seemingly you will need such holes for your game and turn into a world champion.”
Johnson knows a ingredient or two about being a well-rounded fighter. Right through his legendary championship creep in the UFC, he defended his title by tons of submissions, knockouts and choices. Simply save, “Mighty Mouse” modified into a project for his opponents wherever the fight would dart. Johnson humbly acknowledges the overall skillset he supplied in the cage, and sees tons of that in UFC light-weight champ Islam Makhachev.
“Appropriate now, Islam Makhachev is the pound-for-pound easiest fighter in the arena correct now,” Johnson acknowledged. “He can strike, he can grapple, he has judo, he has jiu-jitsu. He’s battled adversity. He is the pound-for-pound easiest fighter in the arena. Jon Jones is correct after that, because he can carry out it all. He’s battled adversity, he’s grappled folks. He’s been in the game for a really, very very prolonged time.”
For some, shooting a title in a 2d weight class is tipping point for his or her pound-for-pound arguments. Makhachev has four title defenses at light-weight, nonetheless hasn’t had the opportunity to fight for a 2d title. If the landscape adjustments at 170 kilos he would perhaps well, because he received’t fight the most up-tp-date champ Belal Muhammad.
Johnson lately spent time with Makhachev and his camp on the mats, and believes his abilities will translate to the tip of the division, must he ever form a change in the prolonged creep.
“When I educated with him and seen how huge he modified into at that time, he’s forcing his – I concentrate on he’ll be pleasing at 170,” Johnson acknowledged. “I basically concentrate on so. Essentially the most efficient ingredient he’s going to must form up a inequity for is upright the dimension and the burden. For somebody who’s well-rounded and has so many wins in tons of areas knocking folks out and submitting them and all that stuff, I concentrate on he’ll be pleasing.”
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