Tom Aspinall: The Most Dominant UFC Heavyweight? Analysis and Key Facts

Tom Aspinall: The Most Dominant Heavyweight in History?

Being the heavyweight champion is an experience that swells any fighter’s chest, largely because the title carries the nickname “the baddest man on the planet”. This glorious designation emerged in boxing in the late 1980s, during the reign of Mike Tyson. His aggressiveness, punching power, and intimidating behavior left his opponents defeated by intimidation as much as by punches. No one has replicated his fearsome aura in boxing, and the nickname “baddest man” has moved to MMA, a sport with a wider variety of combat than anything the Marquess of Queensberry could have imagined. Ask three-weight boxing champion James Toney, who was easily knocked down by Randy Couture in 18 seconds and submitted during the 2010 UFC fight. When an MMA heavyweight is recognized as the “baddest man on the planet,” it’s often the result of the story behind 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 high-revving engine made him unlike any previous heavyweight, became UFC champion in 2010 with an iconic destruction of the seemingly indestructible Brock Lesnar. Contrast those flashy ascents to the mountaintop 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 bestowed upon 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.

Fedor Emelianenko, left, was undefeated from April 2001 to June 2010. Masashi Hara/Getty Images

They are extraordinary heavyweights, each and every one of them, but none maintained dominance like Aspinall. Aspinall has an 8-1 record in the UFC, with his only loss being the result of a freak, non-contact injury. He tore 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 being sidelined for a year. He would face Blaydes again in 2024 and win by knockout in one minute. That victory fit perfectly 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).

• He has the shortest average fight time in UFC history (2 minutes and 2 seconds).
• He has spent the least amount of time in the 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 dominance. 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 on his head by Kevin Randleman (before turning the tables for his fifteenth consecutive victory). And when Emelianenko was submitted by Werdum in a 2010 Strikeforce match, it was the first of three consecutive losses. 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 get a pass on 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 didn’t dominate like Aspinall. Couture also doesn’t have Aspinall’s dominance. Nor Ngannou, Werdum or anyone else. Couture had those three heavyweight reigns, but also lost three heavyweight title fights. Ngannou is as explosive as Aspinall, if not more, but in 2018 he suffered consecutive defeats to Miocic and Derrick Lewis. Werdum had unparalleled grappling skills: 12 submissions among 24 victories, but lost nine times in his career. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Couture, Werdum, Mark Coleman, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Dan Henderson, but 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 dominance, 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 heavyweight, 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 until the bell rang. When the second round began, Carwin was in uncharted waters, and Lesnar choked him out. So much for the dominance of the big guys. 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?