Georges St-Pierre has named Islam Makhachev as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC.
By doing so, the former welterweight and middleweight champion has put himself at odds with Dana White, who believes Jon Jones is the best MMA fighter on the planet right now.
Jones is widely regarded as the greatest fighter ever, but he’s been inactive for years and has opted to fight Stipe Miocic next instead of interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
The UFC CEO recently claimed that anyone who ranks Makhachev ahead of Jones is ‘f***ing stupid’ before adding that they ‘know nothing about this f***ing sport’.
St-Pierre knows a thing or two about MMA after winning UFC titles in multiple weight classes and earning a spot in the Hall of Fame when he retired in 2017.
The 43-year-old recently went against White by naming Makhachev as the pound-for-pound number one during a chat with his coach, Firas Zahabi, on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel
“I think right now he’s the best pound-for-pound right now because of his last few performances,” St-Pierre said.
“Just amazing. An amazing showcase of heart, too, because he had a bad cut on his forehead and [Dustin] Poirier gave him a tough time.
“Pushed the pace to the edge, and I think that fight is going to make Makhachev even better. These are the fights that make you grow.”
After beating Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski and Charles Oliveira in his last three fights, St-Pierre believes Makhchev is well on his way to being discussed as an all-time great fighter.
He added: “He’s already starting to get to that status right now.
“Beating Volkanovski and now his last few performances are amazing.”
Makhachev has just one blip on his seriously impressive 26-1 record.
The 33-year-old was clipped and KO’d by Adriano Martins in October 2015 but has since put together a 14-fight win streak to impress St-Pierre and many other people in the MMA community.
Arman Tsarukyan appears to be next in line for a shot at his title. The 27-year-old Armenian suffered a decision defeat to Makhachev in his UFC debut five years ago.
Ten fights and nine wins later, he’s established himself as the best of the rest at 155lbs and seemingly earned the chance to avenge his first career defeat.
News Summary:
- Georges St-Pierre risks being called ‘f***ing stupid’ by Dana White as names pound-for-pound best UFC fighter
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