Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Pound-for-Pound Men

1. Jon Jones

Jones was the clear No. 1, garnering seven first-place votes out of 12 respondents. I disagreed, as I had him fifth. On one hand, I fully agree that at his very peak, Jones may have attained a level of fighting prowess no other fighter has, with only Aldo and Johnson even in the discussion. However, for me, this list is all about consistent greatness, fight after fight, year after year. Cody Garbrandt was really great for a few fights in his career, including a one-sided domination of Dominick Cruz, but he couldn't sustain it, and is thus nowhere near this list. And in that regard, Jones was still really great...but four men were even greater. First, let's give Jones his due. From 2008 to 2019, across 18 fights, Jones had a phenomenal run, even counting the first Alexander Gustafsson fight, which could have easily gone the other way. In every other encounter, he utterly smashed his opponent, whether by knockout, submission or lopsided decision, and that list includes countless elite fighters and fellow legends; Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Glover Teixeira, Ryan Bader, Vitor Belfort, Gustafsson in the rematch, Rashad Evans, Ovince St. Preux and of course, his arch-rival Daniel Cormier, whether you want to count it as once or twice.

At his peak, Jones was by far the best striker and grappler in the division, and attained a level of fighting ability we had never seen before. In his first fight against Cormier, one of the greatest wrestlers MMA had ever seen and an Olympic alternate, it was the comparatively uncredentialed Jones who took Cormier down. Jones’ style of striking, with its heavy use of front kicks, especially to oblique kicks to his opponent’s lead leg, combined with devastating close quarters muay thai, was both unique and unbeatable in his prime. Few ground fighters in MMA history have been more dangerous from the top than Jones. All of this was aided by tremendous intelligence, calm under pressure, a titanium chin, and the type of elite athleticism normally reserved for the best basketball or football players. One could even argue that Jones was the best submission artist in the division in his prime, tapping Bader and Machida with guillotines, Jackson with a rear-naked choke and Belfort with a keylock. However, things get a little murky with Jones’ last two fights. About to turn 32 years old and still in his ostensible prime, I thought Jones was beaten by Thiago Santos, who had competed on one leg for the last four rounds, as did most viewers. I thought Jones was beaten even more decisively by Dominick Reyes, dropping the first three rounds and being badly hurt and in serious trouble in the fourth before getting a desperation takedown. The fight exposed serious holes in Jones' boxing and defense, and while he won the judges' decisions, the overwhelming majority of media and fans alike thought he lost. Keep in mind that Reyes didn't go on to become a great champion, but has lost three fights in a row since that night, all by knockout. Personally, this obvious decline and weaker performances at the age of 32 dropped Jones on my own list. But I certainly understand those who had him at No. 1, since at his very best, a motivated Jones in his 20s was a fighting machine unlike anything we've seen.