Who Can Stop Tom Aspinall Now?
The UFC Heavyweight Division has officially entered a new era. At the UFC Fight Night Baku post-fight press Conference, UFC President Dana White made the historic announcement that current UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has retired. Jones, who is widely regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, has been under scrutiny after seemingly avoiding a super fight with UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall. Now that Jones has retired and the super fight with Aspinall is officially out of the picture, Tom Aspinall has been elevated to Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. With Jon Jones out of the equation, and Tom Aspinall’s dominance over the Heavyweight Division in mind, who can stop the new Heavyweight Champion?
Ciryl Gane
Longtime Heavyweight contender and former two-time title challenger Ciryl Gane will most likely serve as Tom Aspinall’s first Undisputed Heavyweight Championship defense. Gane is coming off a controversial decision victory against third-ranked Heavyweight Alexander Volkov at UFC 310. Even though the Frenchman is 0-2 in championship fights, he still serves as a tricky challenge for any Heavyweight. Gane’s elite striking, speed, and footwork match up nicely against Tom Aspinall’s imposing striking. However, Gane has shown severe flaws in his ground game, something that Aspinall could easily capitalize on.
Alexander Volkov
On Tom Aspinall’s path to becoming UFC Heavyweight Champion, he faced Alexander Volkov in the main event of UFC Fight Night London. Aspinall would completely overwhelm the Russian, submitting Volkov in the first round. Alexander Volkov would bounce back from this humiliating defeat, putting together a four-fight win streak before losing to Ciryl Gane at UFC 310. The loss to Gane would be disputed by UFC fans, journalists, and even UFC President Dana White. Despite the vast majority of UFC fans believing Volkov did enough to defeat Gane, the loss still stands on his record. However, with just one more win, Volkov could be set for a rematch with Tom Aspinall, and this time for all the gold.
Jailton Almeida
When Jailton Almeida made his UFC debut in 2022, he immediately became a name to watch within the Heavyweight Division. Fast forward three years, and Almeida is now ranked sixth in the division. The Brazilian grappler has only tasted defeat once in his 10 fights with the UFC, that lone defeat coming to Curtis Blaydes. Almeida has made the proper adjustments needed since his loss to Blaydes to be considered a threat to Tom Aspinall. With wins over Derrick Lewis, Alexander Romanov, and Serghei Spivac, it’s only a matter of time before Jailton Almeida is fighting for championship gold.
