Alexander Volkanovski is not ready to relinquish his pound-for-pound spot to Jon Jones ahead of UFC 285: “I’m gonna hold that”

Alexander Volkanovski is not ready to relinquish his pound-for-pound spot to Jon Jones ahead of UFC 285.

Volkanovski (25-2 MMA) maintained his top pound-for-pound ranking despite being on the wrong end of the judges’ scorecards in last month’s UFC 284 main event title fight against Islam Makhachev.

The Aussie gave the reigning lightweight champion everything he could handle in their back-and-forth contest and actually closed out the fight with a dominant fifth-round.

Jon Jones (26-1 MMA), who is considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, will be making his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at this Saturday’s UFC 285 event. ‘Bones’ is set to square off with Ciryl Gane for the promotion’s vacant heavyweight title in the pay-per-view headliner.

Jones once dominated the pound-for-pound ranks but was ultimately removed due to inactivity. However, with ‘Bones’ now set to return to action, some fans have suggested that he should be reinstated as the pound-for-pound king.

During a recent appearance on mainevent, UFC featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski weighed in on the current pound-for-pound debate.

“I guess I’ll go with what the rankings actually say,” Volkanovski said with a laugh (h/t MMANews). “You look at Jon Jones and what he’s done, and all that type of stuff, you can see why his name’s always gonna be there as well. Again, there’s all types of conversations around that, but I’mma take that #1 pound-for-pound (spot). I’m gonna hold that.”

Alexander Volkanovski continued by stating that if Jon Jones goes on to defeat Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, then there is definitely a conversation to be had about pound-for-pound supremacy.

“He’s moving up a division, too, moving up and going for the heavyweight title now as well,” Volkanovski noted. “So, defending the light heavyweight championship how many times? And now he’s moving up against a real contender… So, he goes and takes that, obviously that’s a conversation that needs to be had.”

Do you think Jon Jones should reclaim top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings if he defeats Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 285 on Saturday night? Share your thoughts in the comment section below Penn Nation!