“Islam has a nice shot, but John’s level is always different” – Romanov compared Makhachev and Jones in UFC’s best fighters ranking

Moldovan heavyweight Alexander Romanov in an interview with , he compared American fighter Jon Jones to Russian Islam Makhachev, who occupy the first and third places in the ranking of the best fighters in the UFC, regardless of weight class.

Jones is currently number one in the UFC pound-4 pound rankings (a ranking where fighters are compared regardless of division), Makhachev is third. Earlier, the Russian said he doesn’t consider Jones the best fighter in the promotion due to a long absence and failed doping tests. At the same time, Jones became the champion in two weight classes: light heavyweight and heavyweight.

– One of the main topics of controversy in recent months is the ranking of the best fighters, regardless of weight category. What do you think, if Islam Makhachev was 193 cm tall and weighed more than 100 kg, that is, he would have been a heavyweight, how would their fight with Jon Jones have gone?

For me, stylistically, Jones is still a more developed fighter. Islam packs a big punch, but the level of Jon Jones’ punching technique is different again. It seems to me that it is Sergei Pavlovich who can create problems for Jones in the standing position.

Because he has a stroke?

– Many people think that Sergey is a fighter who just has a punch, this is nonsense, but in fact he is an intellectual fighter. He skillfully closes the distance. If he feels he’s touched, it’s like a shark that has tasted blood, Romanov told .

Romanov, 32, has been in the UFC since 2020 and has long been an undefeated fighter. In the last two fights, the Moldovan lost to Polish Marcin Tybure and Russian Alexander Volkov.

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