Tom Aspinall: The Most Dominant UFC Heavyweight? Deep Analysis

Tom Aspinall: Is he the most dominant heavyweight in MMA history?

Being the heavyweight champion is an experience that elevates any fighter’s ego, largely because the title carries the nickname “the baddest 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 left his opponents defeated by both intimidation and blows. No one since then has matched his fearsome aura in boxing, and the nickname “baddest man” has essentially moved to MMA, a sport with a wider variety of combat than anything the Marquess of Queensberry ever imagined.

When an MMA heavyweight is recognized as the “baddest man on the planet”, it is often a consequence 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 takedown 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 elevated 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. But even before the new champion steps into the octagon this weekend, here’s something essential you should 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 a 29-fight unbeaten streak that stretched throughout 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, all of them, but none maintained dominance the way Aspinall has. Aspinall has an 8-1 record in the UFC, his only loss was 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 saddled with a “TKO (Injury)” loss in 15 seconds, Aspinall ended up sidelined for a year. He would rematch Blaydes 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, 13 seconds or less. According to Alofoke Deportes’ research, Aspinall’s seven first-round victories are the most by 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, 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 the personified domain. An unprecedented domain. 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 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 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 42-year-old shadow of his former 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 he also lost three heavyweight title fights. Ngannou is as explosive as Aspinall, if not more so, 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 is assessed 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 horn. When the second round began, Carwin was in uncharted waters, and Lesnar choked him out. That’s all for the big boys’ dominance. Some might say that Aspinall, like Jones, deserves an incomplete grade. But although he has not 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 has a victory over a former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski. And if he defeats Gane on Saturday, Aspinall will have beaten the four UFC heavyweights ranked just behind him in the Alofoke Deportes divisional rankings. That’s a strong 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 slowed his pace 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?