I don’t watch much MMA, so I’m no expert, but I do catch the occasional heavyweight fight. If Francis Ngannou were to somehow get back in the UFC, how would he do against Tom Aspinall? He is 38 years old, so would the age gap play a huge role in the outcome? Who wins and how?
Be similar to Stipe v Francis 1st fight, except Tom a good chance to flatline Francis in the 2nd or 3rd via on the feet or ground and pound.
I'd still slightly favour Ngannou even now, but not by a lot. Main reason being Ngannou is a lot more proven, and Tom has a tendency to be quite reckless and over aggressive at times which could end up getting him caught.
Tough for Aspinall, because he likely never will get the depth of resume that Francis has. That being said, he probably would have murdered Jon Jones and Jones know that but will never admit it. While I’d favour Aspinall now, I’d rather talk about this after, or if Tom strings a few defences together. He’s clearly the better, more rounded and skilled heavyweight, but Francis is more than just a banger. He’s improved a lot over his career and is a serious threat.
I think I favor Ngannou by a sliver, simply because Ive seen more aspects to his game. Would be a titanic matchup though. Its a shame worthy of boxing that Tom, Ngannou and Jones never fought even one matchup between them. Honestly thats worse than boxing tbh.
Blaydes and AA are their common opponents (then Gane this weekend) Ngannou went 2 rounds with Blaydes the first time and finished him in the first the 2nd time. Tom got injured 15 seconds in his first fight with Blaydes but finished him in the first in the rematch. Ngannou finished AA in the first, Tom finished him in the second. I would say (in addition to Blaydes) that Toms wins over Pavlovich and Volkov were pretty solid. Pav was riding a 6 fight first round KO streak going into the fight and many thought he'd beat Tom.
Tom Aspinall's notable UFC wins include Sergei Pavlovich (KO, 2023, interim title), Curtis Blaydes (KO, 2024, avenged prior loss), Alexander Volkov (submission, 2022), and Andrei Arlovski (submission, 2021). These are among his strongest opponents based on rankings and experience. Full UFC record: 9-1. Aspinal lost the first fight he had vs Blades by injuring his knee.
Also another thing we have to consider about Tom, that all of what we ‘don’t know’ or aren’t sure of are completely contradictory. I get it, nobody wants to make huge bold predictions anymore, how many times have we been proven wrong. But the only argument against Aspinall is that he needs to do worse in the ring. It’s so backwards, but I do understand it. I truly think we are witnessing the best heavyweight of all time in mixed martial arts. If I’m wrong, I’ll happily admit it, but the fact people’s arguments against Tom really being that good are ‘well we haven’t seen him go into deep trouble waters’ Yeah sorry he’s destroyed everyone in the UFC he’s ever come up against in a round. I guess we can’t get too carried away LOL. At the same time you have Pavlovich that was riding that 6 fight 1 round KO win streak, but he just met the immovable object that night. Gane is still a live underdog. He looks in fantastic shape, but right now, give me Tom over Francis and like I said previously, give it a few years and we’ll have a clearer picture
I also think Tom has the potential to be the greatest heavyweight ever, but with that comes proving a LOT more.
Doubt it. Ngannou hasn't shown chin issues in UFC. Joshua literally sat down and put his whole body into the shot because Ngannou just stood there posing. Aspinal won't be hitting him with that type of brick
Why not? Tom is the more experienced grappler so odds are the fight would be held on the feet, the gap in speed would give Tom plenty of chances to plant his feet and whip that right hand like he enjoys doing.
Right now? Tom. Ngannou is almost 40 and his MMA career has been really inconsistent lately, he also looked a bit awkward on the feet against Ferreira in his last match. Tom is way too fast for him at this point, and though Ngannou is a really underrated wrestler he wouldn’t be smart to go to the ground with a BJJ black belt. That being said I think prime Ngannou beats Tom, Tom lunges forward with his chin up in the air and prime Ngannou was one of the most talented counter-punchers I have seen in the HW division.
