Where does Aspinall Rank amongst the PRIDE HW?

Hard to say, but he would look really good ripped and on EPO. I bet he could he build a niiiice body.
 
Bears them all.

Remember, he's allowed to use PEDS.
 
Intermission said:
Wasn't that Sergei guy pretty good
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got beaten by a guy in volkov whos a gatekeeper in stipes era
lmao volkove has more fights than stipe
and fought earlier as well
but its clear when the great guys retired
these average skilled fighters became relevant
 
Portland8242 said:
Saying Fedor beats modern day elite HW's is like saying BJ Penn could beat Khabib, Makhachev and Topuria.

Most fans have zero ability to put their nostalgia bias aside.
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There is a world of difference between modern LW and modern HW. Even so BJ would absolutely beat multiple guys in the current LW top 10. You're honestly telling me you're certain guys like Paddy, Dariush, Moicano and a 36 year old Justin would beat him?

As far as HW goes, how many actual "elite HWs" are there right now even? Volkov is like top 3 atm and hes a 37 year old who has been around since the tail end of Fedors era and lost to a 40 year old Cheick Kongo, a guy who was lower end top 10 in his prime in the 00s. What about Pav getting stopped in the first round by a 38 year old Reem, a guy who started his career in the friggin 90s....
 
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orca said:
got beaten by a guy in volkov whos a gatekeeper in stipes era
lmao volkove has more fights than stipe
and fought earlier as well
but its clear when the great guys retired
these average skilled fighters became relevant
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To be fair, I think the nature of the loss to Tom probably negatively effected Pavlovich going forward. It was the kind of loss that kills a fighters confidence and breaks their momentum. He had been riding high believing in his power after getting a ridiculous SIX FIGHT RD1 KO streak, only to be beaten at his own game and KO'd in the first himself. Its the kind of loss that can change a fighter.

Hes still had a decent run since though, outside of the Volkov fight.
 
markg171 said:
We went from people saying Tom would be at least guaranteed top 5-10 in Pride or any era and a potential champion.

To people saying he'd lose to a ton of fighters after seeing him against Gane.

Just goes to show y'all shouldn't have gone so hyperbolic on him.
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uh...there is some irony in the last sentence. Shouldn't it go to show people to not be soo hyperbolic about 1 round of a fight that was stopped via no contest? I think Tom was losing but it's not like he was about to get stopped.

Tom's sample size is already more than big enough to justify that he is the champion. He still beat half of the top ten easily. Because he didnt run over Gane in 2 minutes like he has everyone else he sucks. When the rematch happens and he likely beats Gane, then what?
 
Tom went from Jones killer to Pride can.

Usually fighters lose to Jones before that happens.

Poor bloke didnt even have that honor
 
To make it fair, you would have to take the best of Tom vs. some fractional percentage of "the best version of" the Pride fighter, depending on the degree of PED use in question. A straight comparison without adjustment gives the PED guys an artificial boost.

To answer the OP's question (I don't think ring vs cage matters much in this particular hypothetical), chunked out by his tiers:

1. Nukes everyone in the "notables" list.

2. Has favorable but competitive fights against Sergei and Werdum (Pride version).
3. Has favorable and "fun" fights against Henderson (Pride version) and Alexander (meaningful favorite in both)

4. Beats Fujita, Randleman, and Coleman handily. Stylistic advantage ++
5. Beats Herring cleanly. Beats Bigfoot (SF version?) from movement and speed.
6. Beats a PED free Wanderlei with moderate difficulty (size would matter).

7. Barnett is interesting to think about, and probably the fight I would be most interested in seeing. I don't have a good sense of it.
8. Cro Cop would force him to stand even if Tom tried to move it off-feet. Close to a pick em' IMO. If Tom could pressure and press Cro Cop, it might lean more in his direction.

9. I'm not as confident as some of Big Nog's ability to get some combination of TD and submission on someone who moves like Tom combined with a higher degree of BJJ understanding (at least defensively) than the supermajority of Nog's opponents he got sub wins over. I would be inclined to pick Tom gun-to-head. I don't think Nog's game would age well in the modern era vs. top big fighters.

10. Loses straightforwardly to Fedor Pride version who mixed grappling and strategic/intelligent striking beautifully. Beats the later version of Fedor who mostly headhunted with wild power strikes.

That is how I think things would trend, be the general pattern, probability, etc...


​

 
I will say, there is absolutely no case to make that the growth and improvement of fighters (in terms of in-cage performance) is equivalent across all weight classes and divisions. There has been a very clear grown in the smaller and mids but much less so in the heavier weight classes.

Doing a similar exercise for Islam/Khabib/Topuria against their similarly sized counterparts from the Pride era would be a rout. For heavies...it is much more contested.
 
Thunderian said:
I will say, there is absolutely no case to make that the growth and improvement of fighters (in terms of in-cage performance) is equivalent across all weight classes and divisions. There has been a very clear grown in the smaller and mids but much less so in the heavier weight classes.

Doing a similar exercise for Islam/Khabib/Topuria against their similarly sized counterparts from the Pride era would be a rout. For heavies...it is much more contested.
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It was only a comparision to Tom Aspinall
 
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).
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I agree, but I would probably lean towards Barnett beating Tom as well.
 
Intermission said:
in fairness Gane fought above his usual level.
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gane was always the better striker
hes a world muay thai champion
he also outstriked nganou

i dont know why people though tom was better standing up just because hes like carwin who ko's anyone in rd1

lmao

why cant people figure this out a long time ago
they thought aspinal is some world champion in striking
they also thought he would ko pereira aswell
because of his stand up skills

crazy
 
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