Conor McGregor Ranks Alex Pereira as the No. 1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter, Snubbing Jon Jones and Islam Makhachev

Conor McGregor has ranked Alex Pereira the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and wants to see him become a three-division UFC champion The Brazilian has already held the title at middleweight and is the current light heavyweight champion.

It is widely believed that he has it in him to bulk up to heavyweight and challenge for the title there.

Especially after his spectacular performance against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 which saw him systematically destroy an absolute lionheart of a fighter in his third title defense in seven months, the MMA community wonders how he would fare against Jon Jones,

In fact, it’s not inconceivable that Jones vs. Pereira could garner the same amount of interest, if not more than Jones vs. Aspinall.

Tom Aspinall is the UFC interim heavyweight champion of the world with a title defense to his name already and an undisputed champion who seems hellbent on not fighting him.

But ‘Poatan’ has captured the hearts of UFC fans with his activity as champion and his sheer dominance inside the octagon, which has led to him becoming the company’s biggest superstar at this point in time. As someone who’s been in the exact same spot before, McGregor understands that.

During his prime, the Irishman fought hard and fought often. He even had both the lightweight and featherweight title at the same time, dominating fighters like Jose Aldo and Dustin Poirier, while systematically destroying Eddie Alvarez and Chad Mendes on the way there.

During a recent interview with The Schmo, the journalist asked McGregor who he thought was the No. 1 P4P fighter in the UFC and the ‘Notorious’ didn’t mince any words.

“2024 has been Alex Pereira’s year. No one can deny that. And you know, if we go by that, forget belts, forget any of that, he has 4 fights this year and 4 KOs….I’d put Alex as number 1.”

In contradiction with the UFC president Dana White, The Notorious believes the Brazilian is actually on top of that elusive ranking scale and claimed that Poatan’s fighting style posed a big threat to Jon Jones.

However, Jones would disagree with McGregor since Pereira’s wrestling is still untested. ‘Bones’ would argue that he could just take him down and maul him or submit him. And there is a lot of truth to that as well.

Pereira has almost been protected with only strikers having been lined up for him on the road to ascension. All that could be clarified of course, if he faced Magomed Ankalalev next and found a way to win that fight.

Speaking of fights, McGregor revealed that there were a few names in the mix at the moment for his grand return to fighting.

McGregor still wants Chandler

Conor McGregor is eagerly waiting to make his return to the octagon. The Irishman has not fought since July 2021 and fans are beyond restless now. While he had to stop owing to an injury sustained during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier, the Irishman has since done a movie, probably sold a million bottles of Proper 12, and poured drinks at another million parties.

So, needless to say, the MMA community wants to see him back in the octagon as soon as possible. But who’s he fighting?

McGregor has now hinted that while he still likes the idea of a Michael Chandler fight, there are a few names he would like to check off the list before the American’s schedule frees up.

“I’d like to get [Michael] Chandler in. We’ve had our beef, it’s not settled. He has a math scheduled I’d like to fight maybe before that or before he’s recovered or what, so there’s a few names in the line at the minute.”

Chandler is currently set to take on Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 later this year. ‘The Notorious’ might then look to take on the winner of that fight in early 2025 if neither of them is too heavily injured.