Do you agree that Tom Aspinall can't be a big star because he will never be able to be a two division champ?

[Tweak896]

Ngannou had 10 finishes in UFC and Aspinall is already up to 8 and 5 of those were ranked guys in the first round, he can't really tear through them much faster.

He went through Spivac, Blaydes, Volkov, Pavlovich and Tybura in less than two rounds combined.

I get that, but it's a different reaction for his 8 wins in the 1st round compared to Ngannou. Maybe it's because Ngannou just was more marketable, but you would think Aspinall would've had more hype at this point. I think it's how Ngannou just decapitated Arlovski and Overeem like nothing, where Aspinall took Arlovski to the ground to finish him. Not saying he isn't impressive, but he needs more wins like how he pulled it off over Pavlovich.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Tom can't become a star because Jon won't fight him.

How unfortunate for him.

 

[Young Calf Kick]

How unfortunate for him.

What's unfortunate is you pretending your boy isn't ducking him like his life depends on it, and gloating over the situation/trolling Sherdog because of it. You're better than that and it would adorn you if you lose the facade.

 

[TheTickG]

No.

 

[GrantB13]

If you need a champ to be a double champ then sure. But if you look down on everyone that's not a multiweight champion then you're probably a casual whose favorite fighter is Conor McGregor and asks if he's fighting on every card they watch.

For actual MMA fans, it doesn't matter. I think the double champ thing is tired now. I really don't care for it at all anymore.

 

[Gamer2k4]

If he beats Jones, he doesn't have to even defend the belt once to be considered one of the GOAT.

"Beating the GOAT makes you the GOAT" is one of the worst kinds of MMA math there is.

 

[El Fernas]

Thats where the "baddest man on the planet" moniker comes into play, HW´s are usually seen as if they could beat every other division fighters, so, he doesnt need to.

Having said that, its about personality, charisma, not titles.

 

[Ares Black]

Um, no.

The two-division champ thing is bullshit.

 

[cmw43]

He's been in the UFC for 5 years, he's 32 years old, he's the defending interim champ and gotten a lot if notoriety because Jones is taking his time gifting Aspinall a title shot. If he's not a star by now, it ain't gonna happen. A real belt will make him about as much of a star as Merab or Belal.

He's finishing guys in dramatic fashion, if he does the same to Jones and he's officially the Champ that would be star making.

Merab and Belal are just decision machines.

 

[NextGen]

HWs are already the biggest fighters. So it's irrelevant that he's not fighting smaller men.

Aspinall also holds the record for shortest average fight time in UFC history.

He'd be the biggest star in the company if Jones had the balls to fight him. But it doesn't seem he does.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

What's unfortunate is you pretending your boy isn't ducking him like his life depends on it, and gloating over the situation/trolling Sherdog because of it. You're better than that and it would adorn you if you lose the facade.

I've never said anything about Jon ducking one way or the other. My stance is and has always been "I don't care whether they fight or not." Tom is annoying and fun to troll, though.

 

[VAfan]

sigh. two division not necessary. in fact IMO it should be frowned upon, all it does is tie the divisions up forever.

 

[Stump]

100%, he's a fun HW. Outside the Jones fight he'll put on some fun KO's, but lets be real they aren't like the same kind of death touch Ngannou has, he's more technical with striking. I just don't think he's going to be as big as Ngannou was with lower level competition but I'm happy to be wrong.

Yeah, i would agree with all of this. Ngannou is/was a once in a generation talent.

Every now and then HW produces a freak like Brock or Frank. Unfortunately, ngannou hasn't been the consistent, long term champion with a terrifying reign of brutal knockouts as champion that he could have been had he stayed put for a while. But then we'd have missed him knocking down and arguably beating Fury.

Edit - and yes, tom almost certainly won't be the same kind of phenom that mgannou could have been/was. But, he could be a stable, entertaining, consistent HW champ. Maybe not the pop culture phenomenon of a frank or a Brock, but he could be something the ufc has never had.- a HW champion with an actual legacy of title defenses. In the big picture, this could be a basic building block in the effort of creating a motor substantial and deep hw division.

 

[Superzorro]

Being a double champion isn’t the problem. There’s just not enough good competition for him. Ngannou and Jones are really the only other championship-level fighters out there. You need more than two to build a respectable legacy.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

No. HW doesn't have the limitation of needing to have won more than one belt to be validated. "Baddest man in the planet"

 

[Alpha_T83]

Tom can't become a star because Jon won't fight him.

He can. But the UFC needs to strip Jon Jones of the title and let Tom Aspinall start building up his own title defense record.

He should already be credited with at least one official title defense.

 

[Tweak896]

Yeah, i would agree with all of this. Ngannou is/was a once in a generation talent.

Every now and then HW produces a freak like Brock or Frank. Unfortunately, ngannou hasn't been the consistent, long term champion with a terrifying reign of brutal knockouts as champion that he could have been had he stayed put for a while. But then we'd have missed him knocking down and arguably beating Fury.

Edit - and yes, tom almost certainly won't be the same kind of phenom that mgannou could have been/was. But, he could be a stable, entertaining, consistent HW champ. Maybe not the pop culture phenomenon of a frank or a Brock, but he could be something the ufc has never had.- a HW champion with an actual legacy of title defenses. In the big picture, this could be a basic building block in the effort of creating a motor substantial and deep hw division.

Brock is another one, it's just the visual of a guy that big having an amazing wrestling background and being able to hang on the ground with a BJJ blackbelt like Mir that creates the hype. I'm not hating on Tom, but he's sort of just a quick HW, like Gane but with power. He seems fairly well rounded, but I wouldn't say he's the one guy you wouldn't want to stand with. He seems to be gaining more power the way he put out Pav and Blaydes, so maybe I'm wrong? Also Stipe is a guy who had power and KO's but just didn't have the factor with his finishes to make him a star.

 

[CC27]

the double champ shit doesnt really matter and even multiple title defenses isnt gonna make you a star, look at Mighty Mouse. Some guys are great but just dont go over.

Beating Jones would be huge but then what? Just cause you killed Jesse James dont mean you are Jesse James.

He's in a shit div, yeah Jailton and Gane would be good fresh defenses but he's not in a great era. Prime Cain,Stipe, Brock, DC., Carwin, JDS, Werdum, Reem, Fedor, Hunt, BIg FOot, MIr and on and on arent walking through that door.

If he can beat Jones and then run off a few years of title defenses and get the record thats great for his legacy but I dont ever see him being a superstar.

 

[mkess101]

Brock is another one, it's just the visual of a guy that big having an amazing wrestling background and being able to hang on the ground with a BJJ blackbelt like Mir that creates the hype. I'm not hating on Tom, but he's sort of just a quick HW, like Gane but with power. He seems fairly well rounded, but I wouldn't say he's the one guy you wouldn't want to stand with. He seems to be gaining more power the way he put out Pav and Blaydes, so maybe I'm wrong? Also Stipe is a guy who had power and KO's but just didn't have the factor with his finishes to make him a star.

Tom generates power in small spaces and with more precision than Ngannou. He doesn't have that utterly freakish power that absolutely comatoses guys immediately like Ngannou, but he makes up for it with better speed and accuracy. And if the power is enough to put any HW away (which it is), I'm not sure the power difference is all that important.

The UFC just needs to force Jones to decide if he's unifying or vacating. Then we can see just what kind of a run Aspinall is capable of and how big a star he can potentially be.

 

[BabyBlue_Bomber]

Yes…

Because all of the UFC’s biggest stars in the past have all been 2 division champs.