Chimaev says Jon Jones should be ranked first in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings

J. Jones after UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC

In the opinion of Khamzat Shimaev, not even idle time should take away Jon Jones at the top of the UFC's weight-for-pound rankings. The Russian-born Swede, who has previously expressed his desire to one day train alongside the former light heavyweight champion (up to 93 kg), believes that Jones is “on another shelf” in relation to the organization's other fighters.

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During his participation in the “Triple C & Schmo Show” podcast, Khamzat Shimaev tore praises to Jon Jones and highlighted the level of opponents overcome by the former light heavyweight champion.

“No one is like him. He beat a lot of guys. He defeated monsters. I did all my training with Alex (Gustafsson). I know how good he is, and Jon Jones managed to stop that guy. It is scary. And he didn't defeat easy fighters. They were very good fighters with knockout power. On the ground, he was doing well, everything was perfect. Daniel Cormier, you know how his pressure is, good wrestling, good boxing and the mentality of putting pressure on opponents and killing them, and Jones also stopped that guy”, argued Chimaev.

Without fighting for over two years, Jon Jones lost his place at the top of the Ultimate weight-for-pound rankings and currently occupies seventh place on the list led by the welterweight champion (up to 77 kg) Kamaru Usman. For Chimaev, however, it is not possible to compare the trajectory of “Bones” with that of the Nigerian.

“You can't say Kamaru is better than him. If he stays in the game, he has to be pound-for-pound number one. Usman only has one belt and how many times has he defended it? Three? Four? Jon Jones He did this throughout his career and defended the title 11 times. Is different. Kamaru didn't defeat the guys who Jon Jones defeated. They are at different levels”, concluded the Swede.

Kamaru Usman, in fact, defended the welterweight belt on five occasions, in duels against Colby covington (2x) Jorge masvidal (2x) and Gilbert Durinho. The Brazilian, in fact, is the next opponent of Khamzat Shimaev in the octagon. The two face each other in UFC 273, on April 9, in Jacksonville, Florida (United States).

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