Conor McGregor tabs Alex Pereira as the UFC’s Pound-for-Pound No. 1 fighter

UFC CEO Dana White might not be happy with Conor McGregor’s pick for who deserves the top pound-for-pound ranking.

McGregor was supposed to make his long-awaited UFC comeback at UFC 303 in June, before withdrawing due to a toe injury. As of this writing, his return remains indefinitely postponed, although he’s targeting a 2025 fight.

In the meantime, McGregor is keeping a close eye on some of the UFC’s biggest names, including Alex Pereira. After finishing Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307, Pereira continues to rise in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and is approaching the GOAT conversation.

White hasn’t made it a secret that he believes UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones deserves to be the pound-for-pound king. But McGregor respectfully disagrees with his longtime business partner.

Conor McGregor praises Alex Pereira, not Jon Jones, as UFC’s P4P king

In a recent interview with The Schmo, McGregor explained why he puts Pereira as the UFC’s pound-for-pound king.

“2024 has been Alex Pereira’s year, no one can deny that,” McGregor said. “If we go by that, forget belts or anything of that, it’s in competition. [Three] fights this year, four knockouts, I’d put Alex Pereira as number one…

“I think he poses a lot of problems for Jon [Jones] also. That’s a dangerous style for Jon. But, it’s a decent one for him, because he’s not so big. Jon’s new to the heavyweight division, had a nice one against Ciryl Gane, but still untested at heavyweight. And I’m sure in the back of his mind…some of these guys are really big. Alex is a nice one, and still a dangerous one though, and at the core of it it’s probably even more dangerous [than Stipe Miocic]. I’d be excited to see that bout take place.”

After three title defenses in seven months, Pereira is expected to take some time off before his next fight. He’ll likely face the Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakić winner early next year.