Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is no fan of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, but he did sit up and take notice when UFC president and CEO Dana White told reporters that he’d changed his mind over his pick to sit at the top of that list.
White has argued the case for Jon Jones being the UFC’s pound-for-pound number one, and has used the fact that Islam Makhachev was voted at the top P4P fighter as part of his argument that the UFC’s official ranking system needs an overhaul.
But on Saturday night, after UFC 311, White changed his pick.
Speaking to reporters backstage at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, White revealed that he now sees Makhachev as the UFC’s pound-for-pound number one.
“Yeah. I’ll give it to him,” the UFC boss said.
“Are you happy? Is everybody happy now?”
Aspinall saw White’s comments and said he was amused to see the UFC boss change his mind after the weekend.
“Now we’re seeing Dana White coming out and saying that he’s the pound-for-pound number-one in the world, Islam Makhachev,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“But, as we all know, to me, pound-for-pound is a load of made up stuff. So I don’t look into that. But it’s just funny how he’s kind of jumped ship now, from Jon Jones to Islam.”
Aspinall also praised Makhachev for his performance on fight night, where he accepted a last-gasp change of opponent on just one day’s notice, then defeated his replacement opponent, Renato Moicano, via first-round D’Arce choke to register his fourth lightweight title defence – a UFC record.
“Islam did what he was supposed to do, which is what champions are supposed to do, fought the guy the UFC told him to fight, and he got the win,” said Aspinall.
“And he’s levels above anybody else in that division. He’s gonna hold the belt for a long, long time. And that is something that I’m very excited for, because I’m a massive Islam Makhachev fan.”
Aspinall also praised Makhachev for readily accepting the late change in opponent, noting that while Moicano received plenty of plaudits for stepping up to challenge for the title on short notice, it was actually Makhachev who had more to lose in that scenario, but accepted the fight anyway.
“I think a lot of people are looking by what Islam Makhachev has just done,” said Aspinall.
“Massive risk for him – an even bigger risk for Makhachev, because no one thought he was going to lose that fight at all. Nobody thought he was going to lose it.
“There was a lot on the line there for Makhachev, and he did what champions, true champions, do, and fight anybody on any notice, and that’s what he did.”