The best pound-for-pound fighter debate has been raging ever since Chris Weidman knocked out Anderson Silva at UFC 162 on Saturday. Now one man who many count among the list, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, has proffered his opinion on this very subjective list.
According to MMA Mania’s Mike Bohn (via Twitter), Jones still ranks the fallen Silva as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and places himself, rather modestly, at the third position.
Jon Jones just told me his top-5 P4P: 1. Anderson Silva 2. GSP 3. Himself 4. Jose Aldo 5. Frankie Edgar/Cain Velasquez
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) July 9, 2013
The debate over the list has been raging since the weekend and everyone seems to have an opinion. UFC president Dana White was quick to offer his thoughts moments after that eventful night, hailing Jones himself as the new best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world.
Indeed, the newly updated official UFC ranking also has Jones in the top position. That list places welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre in second and Silva now in third.
Curiously, however, Weidman himself—the man who has done so much to shake up the debate—is on very few top-five lists. That creates an unprecedented situation where the champion of a division is ranked lower than the fighter he just defeated, which perhaps demonstrates the absurdity of such lists in the first place.
Nevertheless, Jones’ list will find agreement among many.
Silva’s achievements in the sport remain unmatched. Although Jones has achieved amazing success in the short period he’s been fighting as a pro, his achievements still pale in comparison to GSP’s.
But whether longevity itself should be a criteria for the pound-for-pound list is up for debate.
It’s cliche to say that styles make fights and a champ can have success for years if he avoids facing the wrong type of fighter. Does that qualify him to be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? And, considering that weight has such an impact on the way each fighter performs, how can these fighters be compared “pound-for-pound” anyway?
Of course the debate will continue to rage, especially as new challengers and new prospects continue to be thrown up. Amid all this, what can be said is that this is an uncertain time in MMA and old uncertainties are most definitely being questioned.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com