Glover Teixeira Outlines Case For Why Khabib Nurmagomedov, Not Jon Jones, is #1, P4P

After Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, the undefeated, lightweight champ said he deserves to be ranked #1 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. Well, evidently Glover Teixeira very much agrees with that view…

Nurmagomedov’s most recent win

Nurmagomedov faced the now former, interim champ at the September 7th event, and once again, his galaxy class wrestling and top game delivered the win. Poirier had a couple of memorable moments: a second round flurry, and a tight looking, guillotine choke attempt in round three. But, Khabib controlled much of the action with his wrestling and in the third frame, wrapped up a fight-ending, rear-naked-choke.

After the win, the vaunted fighter called for “respect”, and Nurmagomedov argued that he should be moved into the #1 spot of the promotion’s P4P ranks. Light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones is currently sitting in that position.

Teixeira’s recent comments about Khabib

Well, Teixeira is in Vancouver, British Columbia this week for the UFC’s latest event, as the longtime, light-heavyweight contender is booked to face Nikita Krylov (and that’s a fight that no one should miss). The heavy-handed fighter was asked for his take on who should be sitting in the #1 spot of the P4P ranks, and Teixeira said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I think Jon Jones is up there for sure,” Teixeira said, “But after I saw Khabib’s last fight… Dustin Poirier, I saw that kid training, I saw how good he is, and the way (Nurmagomedov) dominated Dustin Poirier… In my mind, he’s definitely the No. 1 pound-for-pound.”

“Jon Jones wins more title defenses, but Jon Jones hasn’t dominated opponents the way Khabib has been, you know?” Teixeira said. “Khabib looks way too much, you know what I mean? He’s way above. He’s like a 10 and other people he’s fighting are sevens.”

It’s an interesting debate right? And Teixeira does make an intriguing point. While Jones’ resume in aggregate is more impressive, in terms of title defenses, and how many big name fighters he’s defeated, one could certainly argue Khabib has been more dominant. After all, aside from his bout with Gleison Tibau, no one has really provided a stiff test for Nurmagomedov.

Jones, meanwhile, is coming off a tightly contested, split decision win over Thiago Santos (and that was despite the fact the latter injured his knees early into the contest). One could argue Jones should have turned to his wrestling more in that fight, sure. But, it was still a very competitive bout nonetheless. Alexander Gustafsson also pushed Jones to his limits in their first bout, back in 2013. The champ’s first fight with Daniel Cormier was also pretty competitive.

Back to Teixeira (29-7), the 39-year-old contender is coming off back-to-back, submission wins over Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba. Krylov (25-6) submitted Ovince Saint Preux in his last outing, which followed  submission loss to Jan Blachowicz last year.