USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Dec. 29: Khabib closes year on top of pound-for-pound list

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Dec. 29: Khabib closes year on top of pound-for-pound list

The final USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings update of 2020 is in, and retired UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov closes the year in the No. 1 spot on our pound-for-pound list.

Sure, Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) technically retired following his October win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, but like UFC president Dana White, we remain cautiously optimistic that “The Eagle” will come back to try and push his record to an unprecedented 30-0, so we’re leaving him in his current position: No. 1 at lightweight, No. 1 at pound-for-pound.

White is hoping to get a more definitive answer from Nurmagomedov next month in Abu Dhabi ahead of UFC 256 and a headliner between Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje. So while the UFC is on hiatus for a few weeks, there could be a big shake-up coming early in 2021.

As 2020 comes to a close, check out the final rankings update of the calendar year across all divisions.

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/rankings/