Not impressed? Makhachev justifies excluding Poatan from his top 5 pound-for-pound UFC fighters.

Makhachev backstage at the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Islam makhachev He recently caused quite a stir in MMA. The Russian, one of the stars of UFC 322 which takes place this Saturday (15), in New York (USA), surprised fans and sports experts by revealing his top-5 pound-for-pound fighters in the company. In his personal list, the former lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg) did not include Alex Poatán Among the best. Without fear, the athlete did not shy away from the thorny issue.

Makhachev justifies excluding the light heavyweight champion (up to 93 kg) from his ranking because, in his view, there are other more complete professionals or those with greater achievements. According to the Russian, the ideal ranking of the best fighters across all UFC weight classes would have him in first place, followed by... Alexandre pantoja, Tom aspinall, Alexander Volkanovsky e Ilia Topuria.

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"He's close, but we don't have room for him in the top 5," said the MMA legend at the 'media day' of UFC 322, held last Wednesday (12).

Currently in the top 5 pound-for-pound

In the UFC, the leader of the ranking table that brings together the best fighters across all weight classes is Ilia TopuriaBelow Georgian are... Islam makhachev, Merab Dvalishvili, Khamzat Shimaev e Alexandre pantoja, in sequence.