Where does Aspinall Rank amongst the PRIDE HW?

ArtardFiesta

ArtardFiesta

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Everyone knows pride fc HW was the gold standard of heavyweight. UFC has never been able to capture the glory that happened there.

Roided up fighters, giving it 100% of the time, for one tenth the money, and fighting 3-6 times a fucking year.

Anwyas below is a list compiled by chat gpt of the top 30 hw in pride.

Looking through that list I was surprised to see I would have tom aspinall at 18 or 17 on that list. I thikn arona should be below werdumpersonally.

Tom has accomplished and has no legacy compared to the the guys I have above him. I am also judging by potential and I am confident all the guys from 13 onward beat him easily.

I am kind of shocked as the brit fans said he was a new HW, the best we will ever see in our liftimes, and he can't stack up against Pride legends at all.

Legends and Champions​


  1. Fedor Emelianenko – Undefeated in PRIDE, PRIDE Heavyweight Champion
  2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ("Minotauro") – Interim PRIDE Heavyweight Champion
  3. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović – 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix Champion
  4. Mark Coleman – 2000 Open-Weight Grand Prix Champion
  5. Antonio Silva – Early heavyweight, though best known post-PRIDE
  6. Josh Barnett – Top contender, fought for the title several times
  7. Heath Herring – Title contender and PRIDE staple
  8. Kevin Randleman – Former UFC champion, PRIDE GP competitor
  9. Wanderlei Silva – Primarily middleweight, fought heavyweights in open-weight bouts
  10. Kazuyuki Fujita – Japanese powerhouse, fought Fedor and Coleman


💥 Fan Favorites and Key Contenders​


  1. Sergei Kharitonov – Elite striker, strong run in PRIDE HW division
  2. Igor Vovchanchyn – Knockout machine from the early PRIDE era
  3. Gary Goodridge – Veteran striker, fought most legends of the era
  4. Mark Kerr – Early PRIDE tournament star and elite wrestler
  5. Dan Henderson – Fought up in weight, beat heavyweights despite being smaller
  6. Ricardo Arona – LHW primarily, but notable open-weight fighter
  7. Fabricio Werdum – Grappling ace, late-era PRIDE competitor
  8. Alexander Emelianenko – Younger brother of Fedor, strong heavyweight run
  9. Bob Sapp – Huge draw in Japan, fought several legends
  10. Hidehiko Yoshida – Olympic judo gold medalist, notable open-weight bouts


⚔️ Additional Notables​


  1. Tom Erikson – Wrestler and early PRIDE contender
  2. Don Frye – Fought early in PRIDE’s history, fan favorite
  3. Ken Shamrock – Early MMA pioneer, fought briefly in PRIDE
  4. Bas Rutten – Retired before PRIDE’s heyday but early connections to the scene
  5. Giant Silva – Spectacle fighter, part of PRIDE’s showmanship era
  6. Butterbean (Eric Esch) – Box office draw, fought in PRIDE late
  7. Yoshihiro Takayama – Infamous brawler, known for the Frye fight
  8. Naoya Ogawa – Judo star turned MMA fighter
  9. Tadao Yasuda – Sumo champion turned PRIDE heavyweight
  10. Gilbert Yvel – Dutch striker, dangerous and controversial
 
wandy-rampage.gif


quit from eye poke.png


I just can't stop wondering how many of the above would quit a fight, let alone for a strap, let alone with millions watching around the world...

from an eye-poke.

<Fedor23><6><{JustBleed}>
 
ArtardFiesta said:
Everyone knows pride fc HW was the gold standard of heavyweight. UFC has never been able to capture the glory that happened there.

Roided up fighters, giving it 100% of the time, for one tenth the money, and fighting 3-6 times a fucking year.

Anwyas below is a list compiled by chat gpt of the top 30 hw in pride.

Looking through that list I was surprised to see I would have tom aspinall at 18 or 17 on that list. I thikn arona should be below werdumpersonally.

Tom has accomplished and has no legacy compared to the the guys I have above him. I am also judging by potential and I am confident all the guys from 13 onward beat him easily.

I am kind of shocked as the brit fans said he was a new HW, the best we will ever see in our liftimes, and he can't stack up against Pride legends at all.

Legends and Champions​


  1. Fedor Emelianenko – Undefeated in PRIDE, PRIDE Heavyweight Champion
  2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ("Minotauro") – Interim PRIDE Heavyweight Champion
  3. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović – 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix Champion
  4. Mark Coleman – 2000 Open-Weight Grand Prix Champion
  5. Antonio Silva – Early heavyweight, though best known post-PRIDE
  6. Josh Barnett – Top contender, fought for the title several times
  7. Heath Herring – Title contender and PRIDE staple
  8. Kevin Randleman – Former UFC champion, PRIDE GP competitor
  9. Wanderlei Silva – Primarily middleweight, fought heavyweights in open-weight bouts
  10. Kazuyuki Fujita – Japanese powerhouse, fought Fedor and Coleman


💥 Fan Favorites and Key Contenders​


  1. Sergei Kharitonov – Elite striker, strong run in PRIDE HW division
  2. Igor Vovchanchyn – Knockout machine from the early PRIDE era
  3. Gary Goodridge – Veteran striker, fought most legends of the era
  4. Mark Kerr – Early PRIDE tournament star and elite wrestler
  5. Dan Henderson – Fought up in weight, beat heavyweights despite being smaller
  6. Ricardo Arona – LHW primarily, but notable open-weight fighter
  7. Fabricio Werdum – Grappling ace, late-era PRIDE competitor
  8. Alexander Emelianenko – Younger brother of Fedor, strong heavyweight run
  9. Bob Sapp – Huge draw in Japan, fought several legends
  10. Hidehiko Yoshida – Olympic judo gold medalist, notable open-weight bouts


⚔️ Additional Notables​


  1. Tom Erikson – Wrestler and early PRIDE contender
  2. Don Frye – Fought early in PRIDE’s history, fan favorite
  3. Ken Shamrock – Early MMA pioneer, fought briefly in PRIDE
  4. Bas Rutten – Retired before PRIDE’s heyday but early connections to the scene
  5. Giant Silva – Spectacle fighter, part of PRIDE’s showmanship era
  6. Butterbean (Eric Esch) – Box office draw, fought in PRIDE late
  7. Yoshihiro Takayama – Infamous brawler, known for the Frye fight
  8. Naoya Ogawa – Judo star turned MMA fighter
  9. Tadao Yasuda – Sumo champion turned PRIDE heavyweight
  10. Gilbert Yvel – Dutch striker, dangerous and controversial
Click to expand...

Not so good. An Aspinall with the training methods of 2000s, not top 10
 
So we're taking a 2025 version of Aspinall in a drug tested environment and pitting him against legends in a ped-permitted environment but with a 2005ish skill set? I assume under Pride rules?

Fedor > Tom, obviously.

Nog & Cro cop > Tom on impact, legacy, greatness, but a 1-1 fight could go either way.

Werdum > Tom at his peak, but his peak was in SF/UFC, so if we're going solely on his Pride run then Tom > Werdum.

Apart from those four, I'd favour Aspinall to beat anyone else on the list (although several are more accomplished and have had a greater impact on the sport).
 
Tsuli said:
So we're taking a 2025 version of Aspinall in a drug tested environment and pitting him against legends in a ped-permitted environment but with a 2005ish skill set? I assume under Pride rules?

Fedor > Tom, obviously.

Nog & Cro cop > Tom on impact, legacy, greatness, but a 1-1 fight could go either way.

Werdum > Tom at his peak, but his peak was in SF/UFC, so if we're going solely on his Pride run then Tom > Werdum.

Apart from those four, I'd favour Aspinall to beat anyone else on the list (although several are more accomplished and have had a greater impact on the sport).
Click to expand...

Yeah Fedor surely beats Tom. Fedor beats Jones too. Cro Cop might have a better overall record but his chin against Toms right hand...

Werdum -Aspinall is too speculative but since Werdums threat is BJJ I say Tom.
 
Until now I don’t think I’ve ever thought about how much fun a fight between Tom and Aleks Emelianenko would be. I kinda like Aleks on that one.
 
i want to be good and put him just under the Herring's level, but people like Kharitonov, Aleks or even Hendo and Werdum imho are better.

PRIDE CroCop who went toe to toe with prime Fedor, with the best TDD of his era, just murders Tom.

that said i'd pull Bigfoot from that list: his presence in PRIDE is impalpable.
 
Tsuli said:
So we're taking a 2025 version of Aspinall in a drug tested environment and pitting him against legends in a ped-permitted environment but with a 2005ish skill set? I assume under Pride rules?

Fedor > Tom, obviously.

Nog & Cro cop > Tom on impact, legacy, greatness, but a 1-1 fight could go either way.

Werdum > Tom at his peak, but his peak was in SF/UFC, so if we're going solely on his Pride run then Tom > Werdum.

Apart from those four, I'd favour Aspinall to beat anyone else on the list (although several are more accomplished and have had a greater impact on the sport).
Click to expand...

The drug testing issue is complete bullshit, almost all of the supposedly "roided up" fighters in pride that went to the UFC like Crocop, Nog, Werdum, Herring, etc all got bigger and gained muscle in the UFC compared to when in Pride....Now that doesn't necessarily mean they weren't using in Pride, it just shows that the UFC testing isn't all it's cracked up to be, aside from perhaps the immediate post USADA period where we saw fighters like Hendricks and Weidman suddenly look like different fighters.
 
His stand up looks similar to a young Aleksander E. Tall dude with fast hands blitzing people.
 
We still dont really know what the guys actual ceiling is, so its hard to say exactly. I'd say Fedor, Nog, CC, Bigfoot, Barnett, Kharitanov, Werdum and Aleks E are still in doubt, but hes probably shown enough to favour him over the rest.
 
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