Overlooking Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, and Francis Ngannou, Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager names PFL star as "best heavyweight on the planet"

Jon Jones, along with several other high-profile heavyweights in MMA, have been overlooked as the very best in the weight class by Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, who has made the bold claim that reigning PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira is the world's best.

He took to X/Twitter to express his thoughts, but it's a head-scratcher. Ferreira has not fought a cast of elite heavyweights. The most notable names on his list of conquered foes are Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, Maurice Greene, and Fabrício Werdum.

"It's time for PFL to realize they have the best Heavyweight on the planet homegrown RENAN FERREIRA. Enough talking about other Heavyweight in the UFC or guys never fought and they smart Cage"

Bader famously failed to achieve championship glory in the UFC, only doing so in a shallower promotion where most of his best wins were against aging fighters on the decline like Matt Mitrione, Fedor Emelianenko, Lyoto Machida, and Cheick Kongo, many of whom couldn't cut in the UFC by the time they left the promotion.

Furthermore, he lost to the two in-form and high-level opponents he faced prior to his PFL debut when he was TKO'd by Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson. Meanwhile, Greene is a UFC washout who lost to Greg Hardy and is 11–9. And Werdum, while great, was 43 when he fought Ferreira, and on a rough patch.

To make matters worse, Ferreira's TKO win over Werdum was later overturned to a no-contest after it was determined that he had actually tapped to a triangle choke from the heavyweight legend.

Thus, many will be perplexed by Abdelaziz's belief that Ferreira's strength of schedule justifies the distinction of being the world's best heavyweight over the likes of Jones, Aspinall, and Ngannou.

However, at least Ngannou will have the chance to prove his perceived superiority over Ferreira later down the line, as both are signed to the PFL and expected to face off in a future matchup.

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Why didn't Jon Jones accept the UFC 300 headliner?

Jon Jones, as were many, was approached for a headline spot at UFC 300. Unfortunately, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion turned down the opportunity due to the severity of his injury last year. Jones tore his pectoral tendon and is still in post-surgery recovery.

He is in no condition to fight, and if he had accepted the UFC 300 main event spot, he likely would have been in subpar shape and would have harmed his legacy in taking a loss when at his most ill-equipped.