The UFC does not have the household names it once had. Of this there is no doubt. Brock Lesnar is back to do his thing for Vince McMahon and WWE. Conor McGregor will be back in action this year, and while his star is shining brighter than ever outside the Octagon, there’s no denying that his talent has waned in recent years. But despite this, the UFC has recently received higher ratings than ever before.
The company’s owners recently announced that they value the company at more than $12 billion. And that could be due in part to the current stacked sterling slate the company might have ever had.
Glory days
A little over a decade or so ago, the Ultimate Fighting Championship had the largest lineup of fighters on its pound-for-pound roster perhaps it had ever seen. In the heavyweight division, there was the aforementioned Lesnar. Then he was replaced by the equally fearsome Cain Velasquez. In the light heavyweight division, there it was John Jones, while there was the sexy middleweight Anderson Silva. The welterweight division boasted Canadian technician Georges St-Pierre and in the lower weight classes there were the likes of Jose Aldo and Demetrius Johnson.
Of these legendary fighters, only the aforementioned heavyweight king is left and he has been upping the weight ever since. The rest either gave up their crown or retired on top. But is this list better than today’s list?
current list
At the top of the current pound-for-pound list, just as he was on lists made back in hay day, is John Jones. He returned to the top of the legendary rankings last month after dismantling Cyril Jean in his heavyweight debut and securing his place at the top of the rankings as champion.
In second place was Alexander Volkanovsky. Formerly the number one Australian featherweight before Jones’ return, he has even managed to hold on to the number one spot on the list despite losing to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in Perth at UFC 284 back in February. The aforementioned Russian lightweight king took bronze in the current standings.
Then comes Briton Leon Edwards. While he’s fourth on the current pound-for-pound list, he’s the greatest fighter to ever fly the Union Jack, and his back-to-back victories over former heavyweight champion Kamaru Usman cemented his place as one of the best fighters on the planet today.
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