Tom Aspinall argues that the best heavyweight in the world is in the UFC.
When asked his thoughts on Francis Ngannou calling himself the No. 1 heavyweight, UFC interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) put an asterisk on his level of competition moving forward.
Former UFC champion Ngannou (17-3) takes on 2023 PFL champion Renan Ferreira (13-3) in the PFL: Battle of the Giants main event Saturday at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ESPN+ pay-per-view, DAZN).
The newly introduced superfights belt will be on the line, and their matchup is being advertised as a fight to crown the “Baddest Man on the Planet.” Aspinall questions the validity of that statement.
“I have a lot of respect for Francis,” Aspinall said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I have a lot of respect for him, and I really appreciate his story. I really appreciate what he’s done in the sport, but it’s hard to debate right now. The guy he’s fighting, he’s not elite. Do you know what I mean? And the guys he’ll be fighting in the future aren’t elite, and it’s as simple as that. These aren’t the best guys in the world. The guy he’s fighting fought a friend of mine and a training partner of mine, Ante Delija (two years ago), and Ante just destroyed him within a minute or two. Took him down, ground and pounded him and stopped him within the first minute, and now this guy’s fighting Francis Ngannou.
“So, the guy isn’t elite, his opponent. Yeah, he’s big. Yeah, he’s powerful. Yeah, he could knock you out, but he’s not an elite heavyweight. I’m not disrespecting him. The elite guys are not in the PFL. The elite guys are in the UFC. It’s difficult to say that (Ngannou) is the best heavyweight in the world when he isn’t fighting elite guys right now.”
Aspinall confirmed that he will weigh in as a backup for the heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, which headlines UFC 309 Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.
