Routes to victory for Tom Aspinall against UFC legend he doesn’t think he can beat

Tom Aspinall would run through the majority of heavyweight legends

Unfortunately for Aspinall, he is part of one of the worst heavyweight divisions in the sport’s history, with the division lacking serious talent from top to bottom.

Because of that, the Brit isn’t half as big a star as he should be. If the 32-year-old was part of the era with the likes of Mark Hunt, Junior dos Santos and even Cain Velasquez, he could have been a global phenomenon.

Cormier is at least in my opinion, one of the most under-appreciated champions in UFC history, and he possessed a skillset to make it a hard night for pretty much anyone because of his wrestling acumen.

Wrestling in the UK is nowhere near as popular as it is in the United States and because of that, a lot of British fighters struggle in that area when it comes to fighting in the big time.

Throughout Aspinall’s career the only fighter to have attempted to take him down is Serghei Spivac (who failed). However, he has continued to showcase he has the attributes to avoid that fate against anyone.

Oftentimes we see fighters moving north to south (directly backwards) which puts their backs against the cage and opens them up to be taken down. Aspinall, though, has always showcased a tendency to move laterally (side to side), which often doesn’t allow for his opponents to set up takedowns.

Curtis Blaydes is the only notorious wrestler that Aspinall has fought, and their fights didn’t last long enough for Blaydes to even attempt a takedown.

And that is another benefit Aspinall would have over the aforementioned Cormier. He doesn’t give fighters time to implement their skills, he’s a disruptive and destructive fighter.

In Cormier’s fights against Stipe Miocic, even the one in which he won, he took too long to realize where he could dominate the fight, and that’s likely not a luxury he would be afforded in a fight against the faster Aspinall.

We can only go by what we have seen from each fighter, and although we haven’t seen any of Aspinall’s opponents really attempt to take him down, I believe his striking upside would see him through against a smaller Cormier.

And even if ‘DC’ did take the fight to the ground, Aspinall’s size and athleticism would likely make it hard for him to control on the ground. Not only that, but the Brit has a very underrated BJJ game.

As long as the Brit was able to keep the fight on the feet for even just the opening minutes of each round, I would give him the advantage in almost every parameter of the fight.

Tom Aspinall could go down as the greatest heavyweight of all time

Historically, the heavyweight division has been the most popular amongst fans and with UFC president, Dana White.

Despite that, there has never really been a standout champion that has reigned over the division for a considerable amount of time.

Having only suffered one defeat under the UFC banner so far, and it having come by injury, Aspinall is already well on his way to becoming the greatest heavyweight of all time.

The unfortunate circumstance he has is that there aren’t many high level heavyweights currently in the division.

However, if he continues to stack up wins, similar to how Merab Dvalishvili is doing so at bantamweight, he will be undeniable.