Glover Teixeira shared the cage with Jon Jones for 25 minutes back in 2014, coming up short in his attempt to become the UFC light heavyweight champion. Years later, he sees another athlete as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
Speaking with reporters at Thursday’s UFC Vancouver media day in Canada, prior to his clash with Nikita Krylov, the Brazilian light heavyweight veteran explained why he sees lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov as the No. 1 fighter on that list right now.
“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.”
Nurmagomedov holds an incredible 28-0 record as a professional mixed martial arts fighter that includes a perfect 12-0 run since joining the UFC in 2012. The list of names he’s beaten features names like Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Al Iaquinta, Edson Barboza and Rafael dos Anjos.
Jones, who is technically undefeated in MMA — his only career loss is a disqualification against Matt Hamill in 2009, dominated the UFC light heavyweight division over the last decade, defeating six former or future UFC champions.
“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.”
Get the latest gear
