UFC Hall of Fame Georges St-Pierre is the latest prominent name to support Islam Makhachev as the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA over Jon Jones.
After Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) recorded his third consecutive lightweight title defense with a fifth-round submission over Dustin Poirier in UFC 302 This month, UFC CEO Dana White incited pound-for-pound discussion when he named Jones the definitive No. 1.
White’s comments sparked a huge debate throughout the MMA community, and now former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion St-Pierre has shared his opinion.
“I think at the moment he is the best pound-for-pound at the moment,” St-Pierre told coach Firas Zahabi at the Tristar Gym YouTube channel. Because of your last performances. Simply incredible. An incredible show of heart too, because he had a bad cut on his forehead and Poirier gave him a lot of trouble. I increased the pace and I think this fight will make Makhachev even better. It’s these struggles that make you grow.”
Zahabi asked St-Pierre what he thinks Makhachev’s ceiling will be in the sport, given his recent success and what could be on the horizon. “Rush” is considered by many to be one of the three best fighters in the entire history of MMA, and unquestionably at the top of the list.
St-Pierre thinks Makhachev, 33, is on track to join an even bigger discussion, as long as he stays the course.
“He’s already starting to reach that status now (as the greatest of all time),” St-Pierre said. “Beating Volkanovski and now his latest performances are incredible.”
