Conor McGregor now has another title to strip from Jose Aldo at UFC 189.
Jon Jones’ loss is Jose Aldo’s moderate, and I stress, moderate gain.
Former light-heavyweight champion Jones has had his belt revoked, been replaced by his mortal enemy Daniel Cormier in the main event at UFC 187 and has also been banned indefinitely by the promotion.
The UFC took these actions after Jones was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run on Sunday which resulted in a pregnant woman breaking her arm. Jones was alleged to have fled the scene on foot after being involved in the crash.
His suspension have left a big, Jon Jones-shaped void in the official rankings which has turned the former light heavyweight king into a bit of an invisible man.
Jones’ phenomenal record in the UFC boasts gargantuan scalps such as former champions Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Mauricio Shogun Rua and a whole host of other fighters who could have potentially held the belt if Jones wasn’t on the scene.
With eight straight title defences under his belt against elite opponents, Jones was unanimously considered to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC. However, since he has been removed from the rankings, a certain Brazilian featherweight now lays claim to that honour.
This of course means that when Conor McGregor faces Aldo in the main event at UFC 189, he will be trying to usurp his featherweight throne, which would almost definitely see him also move down the pound-for-pound rankings.
McGregor won’t be just taking on the best UFC featherweight, he’ll be facing arguably the greatest fighter on the promotion’s roster in July.Having not lost in nearly nine and a half years, it’s hard to argue against Aldo being the best the MMA big leagues has to offer.
