Tom Aspinall: The Most Dominant UFC Heavyweight? Analysis and Debate

Being heavyweight champion is a peak experience for any fighter, largely because the title carries the nickname “the toughest man on the planet”. This glorifying title emerged in boxing in the late 1980s, during Mike Tyson’s reign as heavyweight champion. His aggressiveness, punching power, and intimidating behavior defeated his opponents through both intimidation and blows. No one since then has matched his fearsome aura in boxing, and the nickname “the toughest man” has essentially moved to MMA, a sport with a wider variety of combat than anything the Marquess of Queensberry ever imagined. Ask three-time boxing champion James Toney, who was easily knocked down by Randy Couture in 18 seconds and submitted during his 2010 UFC fight. When an MMA heavyweight is recognized as “the baddest man on the planet,” it’s often the result of the story of how he won the championship. Francis Ngannou captured the UFC belt in 2021 by knocking out Stipe Miocic, whose three title defenses set a heavyweight record that still stands. Miocic first won the title in 2016 by knocking out Fabricio Werdum, who had previously secured a place of honor in the annals of the sport by defeating two of the greatest of all time, Fedor Emelianenko and Cain Velasquez. Velasquez, whose multifaceted skill set and full-throttle engine made him unlike any previous heavyweight, became UFC champion in 2010 with an iconic destruction of the seemingly indestructible Brock Lesnar. Contrast those spectacular ascents to the mountain’s summit with the unobstructed rise of the current UFC heavyweight belt holder, Tom Aspinall. While Ngannou, Miocic, and many other greats established their supremacy with resounding victories, Aspinall did not dethrone a reigning champion to obtain the title. The UFC simply promoted him from interim champion to undisputed champion four months ago to fill a vacancy left by Jon Jones’ retirement. Aspinall will defend the belt for the first time on Saturday, facing title challenger for the third time Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV, prelims at 10 a.m. on ESPN+). But even before the new champion steps into the Octagon this weekend, here’s something essential to know about him: Aspinall has already established himself as the most dominant heavyweight in MMA history.

If that sounds premature or even absurd, consider that this is not a proclamation that Aspinall (15-3) is the best heavyweight in history. That honor is generally given to Emelianenko, who amassed an undefeated streak of 29 fights that spanned almost the entire first decade of the 2000s.

Aspinall is also not the most successful heavyweight in MMA. There is a strong argument for Miocic, who defended the UFC title more than anyone and holds the heavyweight record with six wins in title fights. Perhaps the most successful is Couture, the only fighter who reigned three times as UFC heavyweight champion.

They are extraordinary heavyweights, each and every one of them, but none maintained the domination like Aspinall. Aspinall has an 8-1 record in the UFC, with his only loss being the result of a strange, non-contact injury. He injured his knee in the opening seconds of a 2022 fight with Curtis Blaydes, and in addition to being penalized with a “TKO (Injury)” loss in 15 seconds, Aspinall ended up out of action for a year. He would face Blaydes again in 2024 and win by knockout in one minute. That victory fit with the rest of Aspinall’s UFC resume, as all but one of his eight wins ended in the first round, the three most recent in 1 minute and 13 seconds or less. According to ESPN Research, Aspinall’s seven first-round victories are the most of any fighter in any weight class in nine Octagon appearances in the modern era of the promotion (since UFC 28 in 2000). Some other brilliant Aspinall statistics:

• He has the shortest average fight time in UFC history (2 minutes and 2 seconds).
• He has spent the least amount of time in bottom position of any fighter in UFC history (1 second).
• His average of 4.09 takedowns per 15 minutes of fight time is the highest in UFC heavyweight history (the second highest in any weight class).
• His average of 8.07 significant strikes landed per minute is the highest in UFC heavyweight history (the third highest in any weight class).
• His significant strike differential (strikes landed minus strikes received) of over 5.18 per minute is the highest in UFC history.

Aspinall is domination personified. Unprecedented domination. Emelianenko, despite all his greatness, had to persevere in dangerous moments during his long undefeated streak, none more so than in a Pride fight in 2004, when he was thrown over his head by Kevin Randleman (before turning the tables for his fifteenth consecutive victory). And when Emelianenko was submitted by Werdum in a Strikeforce match in 2010, it was the first of three consecutive defeats. One can be a great of all time, but not dominant all the time. Miocic also had his ups and downs. He holds the record for heavyweight title defenses, but was knocked out four times in the Octagon, although Miocic should be absolved of the last one, against Jones less than a year ago, because he had retired for 3 and a half years before returning to the cage as a shadow of his former 42-year-old self. However, even at his best, Miocic did not dominate like Aspinall. Couture also doesn’t have Aspinall’s dominance. Neither does Ngannou, Werdum, or anyone else. Couture had those three heavyweight reigns, but he also lost three heavyweight title fights. Ngannou is as explosive as Aspinall, if not more so, but in 2018 he suffered back-to-back losses to Miocic and Derrick Lewis. Werdum had unparalleled grappling prowess (12 submissions among 24 victories), but he lost nine times in his career. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Couture, Werdum, Mark Coleman, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and Dan Henderson, but he lost 10 fights. Then there’s Jones, arguably the greatest in light heavyweight history, but having competed at heavyweight only twice, he qualifies as incomplete.

If anyone from MMA’s past showed Aspinall-level supreme domination, it was Ronda Rousey. She won her first 12 fights, all by finish, all but one in the first round. The last three fights during that untouchable streak ended in 16, 14, and 34 seconds. But then everything fell apart for “Rowdy Ronda”, thanks to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.

In the heavyweight division, the story was very similar with Shane Carwin. He also built a 12-0 record with quick finishes: in his case, they all came in the first round. Carwin was on his way to adding a thirteenth demolition, until Lesnar withstood a beating in the first round and survived the bell. When the second round began, Carwin was in uncharted waters, and Lesnar choked him out. So far, the dominance of the greats.

Some might say that Aspinall, like Jones, deserves an incomplete grade. But while he hasn’t yet made a single defense of the undisputed title, Aspinall put his interim belt on the line once while waiting (in vain) for Jones to return. He holds a victory over a former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski. And if he defeats Gane on Saturday (as a -425 favorite according to ESPN BET), Aspinall will have beaten all four UFC heavyweights ranked just behind him in ESPN’s divisional rankings. That’s a hefty dose of dominance for a career that seems to be just beginning.

At 32 years old, Aspinall has time to achieve much more and face any challenge that comes his way. No one has stopped his progress yet. Will he add another stellar chapter to a story that has been all his own this weekend, or will the narrative about Tom Aspinall change completely?