Tom Aspinall DOESN’T think Francis Ngannou’s next opponent, Renan Ferreira, is elite
“The guy [Francis] is fighting fought a friend of mine… and [my friend] just destroyed him within a minute or two…
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Tom Aspinall finds it hard to label Francis Ngannou the best heavyweight in MMA.
Ngannou left the UFC as the reigning heavyweight champ in January 2023 after a failed contract negotiation with the Las Vegas-based promotion. “The Predator” was unable to come to terms with the UFC due to a few key stipulations, which included the allowance to compete in boxing simultaneously and health insurance for fighters.
The UFC heavyweight title picture has been in limbo after former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones won the vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in March 2023. Jones was scheduled to defend his throne against heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November 2023 but was forced to pull out due to a pectoral muscle injury. Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich stepped up for a short-notice interim title fight on the same card, where the Brit knocked out the Russian in the first round.
Aspinall has since been rallying for a title unifier against Jones, who remains adamant on fighting Miocic on his return. Jones and Miocic will now clash at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Meanwhile, Ngannou will make his Professional Fighters League debut against 2023 heavyweight champ Renan Ferreira at “Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact” on Saturday at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Cameroon-born Frenchman recently declared himself as the best heavyweight in the world, regardless of the promotion. However, Aspinall disagrees considering the level of competition Ngannou is fighting. According to Aspinall, Ngannou won’t face any elite opposition in the PFL, including Ferreira. Making his case, “The Honey Badger” highlights teammate Ante Delija’s win over Ferreira at PFL 8 in 2022. Aspinall doesn’t regard Ferreira elite considering how easily his Croatian teammate finished him in the first round. While Aspinall respects Ngannou’s story, the UFC interim champ simply can’t consider him the best at this point.
“I really appreciate [Ngannou’s] story. But it’s hard to debate right now,” Aspinall told Ariel Helwani. “Like, the guy he’s fighting, he’s not elite. And the guys he’ll be fighting in the future aren’t elite. It’s simple as that. These aren’t the best guys in the world. The guy he’s fighting fought a friend of mine and a training partner of mine, Ante Delija, last year. And Ante destroyed him within a minute or two. Took him down, ground-and-pounded him and stopped him within the first minute. And now this guy is fighting Francis Ngannou.
“The guy isn’t elite. Yeah, he’s big. Yeah, he’s powerful. Yeah, he could knock you out. But he’s not an elite heavyweight. I mean, I’m not disrespecting him but the only thing… the elite guys are not in PFL. The elite guys are in the UFC. So… I’ve got a lot of respect for Francis and his story and what he’s done in the sport. But it’s difficult to say that he’s the best heavyweight in the world when he isn’t fighting elite guys right now.”
