Would Aspinall have been ranked in the heyday of the UFC HW division?

[fedorthegoat777]

I'm just going to use this dumbass thread to reiterate that Stipe is the most overrated HW ever and if you think he is in contention for MMA HW GOAT you are an absolute doofus

But Uncle Dana and Jon said he was. . .

 

[Pierce 34]

Prime Rampage destroys Stipe

Loooool wtf????!??!

 

[snugglecakes]

what is considered the heyday was kinda overrated.. Both heydays. The first 1 you had cruiser weight is loserweight fedor beating on middleweights like randleman and LIghtheavyweights like COleman and other cruiserweight sub 235 pound shrimps like himself such as can cop and not so big nog.

The second heyday had guys like brock lesnar getting taken to the belt by mcdojos he set up in his garage. It looked like cain might be the next big thing but he was better at getting injured than getting a win streak.

 

[muaythaibeast]

I’m not sure Asspinall even beats the likes of Gane or Almeida let alone guys like DC, Cain, JDS, Ngannou, Werdum etc.

Hard to see even a remote possibility he loses to Almeida, Gane or Werdum on his worst day.
At absolute worst he may lose a round to Almeida, but no way is Almeida finishing him.
JDS would be good, but Aspinall hits much harder and is much faster. Cain would be a great fight.

 

[theincognito]

He beats them all besides DC imo

Cain maybe too but he usually folded if he got hit a few times.

Ngannou would be interesting.

2019 and earlier Stipe would have been interesting.

Smokes everyone else.

 

[Hog-train]

Can't tell because he's never been significantly tested. And all his fights are short.

 

[mkess101]

And yet another potted plant level IQ thread by Golota. This guy can't help himself.

 

[pamirec]

I’d definitely pick JDS and Cain over Aspinal.

 

[mkess101]

Can't tell because he's never been significantly tested. And all his fights are short.

Sort of. We can tell just based on his physical attributes we've seen (in his short fights) that he'd be ranked. Probably highly ranked. He moves better than any HW of that Era, even guys naturally smaller than he is. And his power and accuracy are pretty obvious. Those early KO's aren't happening by mistake.

HW is obviously weaker and of course that factors in. So for sure it's accurate to say we don't know how he'd fare vs the elite guys of back then like prime Cain or JDS.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Aspinall would smoke Cain.

I think prime no Usada JDS might give him some problems due to his elite TDD and great boxing.

 

[Petey_My_Heart]

Bottom half. He's only good cause everyone else is washed up

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Aspinall is clear as day one of the best HWs to come along in the past 5 years (him and Gane, somehow they haven't fought yet but they're the clear two best).

They both debuted around 5 years ago. Gane fearlessly climbed the ranks at light speed, with a title shot less than 2.5 years after his UFC debut (where he was shellacking Ngannou on the feet effortlessly like no one ever had before, but lost due to not being prepared for Ngannou's wrestling pivot).

Tom on the other hand hasn't fought anyone near the level of Ngannou yet, 5 years into his UFC debut. He won the title off his win over Sergei, who is a good reference point because he's a type fighter in today's division yet got streamrolled by a 38 year old way past prime Overeem inside a round.

Which brings me to the thread topic. Aspinall has been outside of the first round in only one UFC fight, and there's a reason for that, it's because he fought a HW from the better days of the division. Even though Arlovski was 42 and way past his prime, he gave Tom his toughest fight in the UFC so far. It really makes you wonder if Tom could've hung with that era.

Carwin: Shane had an incredible chin so good luck knocking him out in a round like this new generation. What does Tom do when his only gameplan doesn't work? Plus Shane had an collegiate champion wrestling background so the takedown wouldn't be an option either. Shane catches him with his legendary power and puts Tom to sleep. Yes JDS, who is a similar fighter to Tom at first glance, destroyed Carwin, but don't forget JDS back then had a granite chin and elite TDD, neither of which Tom has.

Cain: Destroys Tom similar to JDS 2 and 3 fights, except much GNP since Tom's TDD isn't as good.

JDS: Great fight, similar styles, coin toss.

Stipe: Can hang with Tom on the feet but way better wrestling. Stipe uses the same gameplan he used vs Hunt and wins a dominant UD, especially since Tom probably gasses fast from his explosive style and Stipe could go for days.

Werdum: Tom would probably win this fight due to Werdum's poor wrestling. Huge win for Aspinall as Werdum was a champ.

Overeem: I think Tom catches him and Overeem can't take the shots. Another huge win.

Brock: Unless Tom catches him early, Brock gets the takedown and absolutely mauls Aspinall on the ground. Stuart dominated Tom in wrestling and ground, and Brock was super elite in both areas. One of the best top games we've ever seen plus unlimited cardio.

Ngannou: Rock em sock em robots but Ngannou had an unbreak chin back then and more power. Tom can't play that game with Ngannou, he gets brutally slept.

So Tom goes 2-5 or at best 3-4 in the division if he manages to beat JDS. Either way it's a losing record and he's not ranked in the top 10. Tom is great for his current division but in see him very similar to a Miguel Torres, looks amazing for his division but it's more due to the level of competition.

Overeem can knock out and beat JDS who in a much better striker than Tom who you think is a 50/50 opponent with Tom but just write off Overeem?

Overeem has a whole resume of knocking out people who have dynamite for hands.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Took me 18 seconds

That just means I'm gonna live 18 seconds longer than you

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Overeem can knock out and beat JDS who in a much better striker than Tom who you think is a 50/50 opponent with Tom but just write off Overeem?

Overeem has a whole resume of knocking out people who have dynamite for hands.

True, you convinced me, 1-6. I'm not sure what version of Overeem I had in my head. If it's the one that fought Brett Rogers he definitely wins.

 

[markg171]

Based on what? He took a bit shot from Pavlovich and wasn't phased so his chin isn’t really a question.
It's an interesting fight, but I'm not sure how you make Francis favourite. Tom would be much faster

Tom's been dropped by Volkov and Blaydes.

Having a granite chin is make belief nonsense.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

True, you convinced me, 1-6. I'm not sure what version of Overeem I had in my head. If it's the one that fought Brett Rogers he definitely wins.

Overeem is one of my favorite fighters of all time. And yes he had about as suspect a chin you could have in HW MMA. But I also think hm his main issue wasn't his chin. He played down to his competition a lot. If he respected you then he'd give a performance like he did against JDS or Hunt. If he thought he could just blow pass you then we get his performances against Brown and Big Foot.

 

[SuperNerd]

1 spot above Jones

 

[NoSmilez]

HW has always been a low skill division. Tom would have been near the top especially if he gets some of the pre USADA supplements

 

[Mike]

Lmao all Carwin had was power and 1 round gas tank, fun fighter but by far and away one of the most limited contenders the division ever had. He should not be held as an all time great at all.

He absolutely does not have an impressive resume either

 

[orca]

Honestly, other than Ngannou and Stipe I think Tom walks through any HW in UFC history.

Ngannou I feel catches him, we've only ever seen him hurt against AJ and we've seen Tom get clipped coming in a fair few times.
Stipe in his prime I could see surviving a tough first round and picking away at him and getting a late finish or decision win.

Edit: Forgot about DC lol. I'd favour Tom to beat him, but 60/40 in his favour. I can't imagine anyone walking through a prime DC.

do you believe he can beat prime jds?
jds can knock anyone out has way better hands than nganou
has great cardio
also has a great chin