What happens if???

[Paolo Delutis]

Pavlovich (2), Volkov (6), Tybura (10), and Spivak (14). All finished in the first round. You can downplay it all you like, but that's pretty damn impressive.

That being said, although I've said that Aspinall is the best HW on the planet for a while now, I do think there are a couple questions that need to get answered (which is true for every rising fighter): first, how will he do against a good wrestler. We haven't seen him operate from bottom position. And second, how will his cardio hold up in a long fight.

So 1 top 5 win... which puts him on Par with Jones HW run..

But when you consider entire careers...Stipe and Jones are the most proven at the HW division currently. That was my original point...


I guess only time will tell...

 

[Captain Herb]

How do you arrive at Blaydes having fought WAY better guys?
Blaydes has 23 fights and 18 wins. Should be 19 wins but it was overturned due to marijuana. Funny enough it was a knee injury for a TKO. Take away a win as his "Win" over Tom is nothing he earned so back to 18 wins. While he has more fights in the UFC and fought some good fighters losing to Francis x 2, Lewis, Pavovich all by brutal stoppage don't add to his resume. His best wins are JDS, Overeem & Volkov.


Tom has 17 fights and 14 wins. His only real loss was a Heel Hook in his 4th fight. A DQ Jon Jones style for 12-6 elbows and the knee injury don't really tell us how someone can beat Tom. Tom's best wins are Pav who brutally KO'd Curtis, Volkov & Tybura.

Curtis has more fights but his best wins are over aging vets and the best guys he has fought beat him soundly. He certainly has a chance but Tom has shown he is far more skilled in all areas except maybe wrestling.

I think Curtis could one day find himself fighting for the belt and even winning it but it would involve some luck. He's very good but not elite.

 

[Domitian]

If Stipe beats Jon I wouldn't be surprised if they ran it back just to milk what they can get out of it.

 

[Domitian]

Aspinall is unproven? That's absurd. The guy has wins over the current #3, #5, #8, and #9, and he finished all of them in the first round. Hopefully you're just trolling.

The HW division has like 6 good fighters and Aspinall has beat one of them. The numbers look good but when you put into context Toms best wins outside of Sergei (great fucking win) are Tybura, Volkov, Spivac, and Arlovski it doesn't really look as great. No disrespect to those guys but nobody on Sherdog looks at them as world beaters. The HW division is super thin on top tier talent.

 

[nonoob]

Jones himself said Stipe is the most DANGEROUS and RELEVANT opponent he could possibly choose to fight.

True. Honesty (and challenging himself at HW) is what Jon is known for.

​

 

[Khaosan]

I would love that so much for the sheer lols.

 

[filthybliss]

This would a miracle if it happened.

Jones finally gets humbled by something other than New Mexico PD and all the Aspinall meat riders that think he rails all of the past great HWs get humbled too. Its the ultimate win.

 

[Captain Herb]

If Stipe beats Jon I wouldn't be surprised if they ran it back just to milk what they can get out of it.

Yeah, and it's probably the best thing that could happen for Jones. It legitimizes the fight in the first place, makes him look human, vulnerable, relatable and gives him an opportunity for redemption. It would be a real life Rocky story. If I were Jones, I might look into throwing this one to Stipe for a huge comeback/retirement fight to follow. It would be a triumphant and euphoric exit for a once reviled champion, now universally loved and understood by everyone.

 

[laleggenda27]

The HW division has like 6 good fighters and Aspinall has beat one of them. The numbers look good but when you put into context Toms best wins outside of Sergei (great fucking win) are Tybura, Volkov, Spivac, and Arlovski it doesn't really look as great. No disrespect to those guys but nobody on Sherdog looks at them as world beaters. The HW division is super thin on top tier talent.

Those are all very good wins. But it's not just that he won, it's HOW he won. He absolutely walks through them and barely breaks a sweat. He's actually a grappler, but we rarely see it because he's obliterating opponents on the feet.

I've been saying this for a while: his rise looks very similar to that of Jones.

 

[Domitian]

Those are all very good wins. But it's not just that he won, it's HOW he won. He absolutely walks through them and barely breaks a sweat. He's actually a grappler, but we rarely see it because he's obliterating opponents on the feet.

I've been saying this for a while: his rise looks very similar to that of Jones.

Shavkat has finished a bunch of people too, but he's still untested against the best of the best. Nobody is saying Tom isn't elite, were saying Tom hasn't proved it yet against the other elites of his division. Finishing Spivac and Volkov doesn't guarantee he'd walk through someone like Jones yet he's being crowned king of the world. Pump the breaks.

 

[StonedLemur]

Everything Jon Jones touches turns to shit.
At LHW he was stripped twice, made a mess of that division....and surprise, he's doing it again at HW.

March 4th 2023 is the last time he fought, and he won't fight until November 2024 and he's not getting stripped...fuck that guy and his endless run of backdoor handshakes.

Dude has pissed hot enough times to be tossed from the UFC permanently, and yet he's still allow to ride ride roughshod over the promotion.
I honestly would not care if he wins or loses, but at the end of the day the entire organization will be better off without him.

 

[StonedLemur]

Shavkat has finished a bunch of people too, but he's still untested against the best of the best. Nobody is saying Tom isn't elite, were saying Tom hasn't proved it yet against the other elites of his division. Finishing Spivac and Volkov doesn't guarantee he'd walk through someone like Jones yet he's being crowned king of the world. Pump the breaks.

You may be right sir, but Tom can't test himself against "the best" if the so called best refuses to fight him.

Smashing Pav should've earned him an immediate title shot, and now they're making him defend his interim title which is absolutely bullshit tbf.

 

[Domitian]

You may be right sir, but Tom can't test himself against "the best" if the so called best refuses to fight him.

Smashing Pav should've earned him an immediate title shot, and now they're making him defend his interim title which is absolutely bullshit tbf.

I consider Blaydes as one of those 6 good fighters in the division. It might actually be 7 if you include Almeida. Jon, Stipe, Sergei, Tom, Blaydes, Gane, Almeida. That's the ones. I'd favor Tom over Stipe, Sergei (again), Blaydes (not by a whole lot) and Gane. I wouldn't favor him over Jon. Almeida would be interesting because apparently he has really really good grappling. Just needs to tweak his fight IQ and strategy.

But still, we gotta see it to believe it. I'll give Tom full credit if he beats Blaydes. That will be a great win to me.

 

[StonedLemur]

I consider Blaydes as one of those 6 good fighters in the division. It might actually be 7 if you include Almeida. Jon, Stipe, Sergei, Tom, Blaydes, Gane, Almeida. That's the ones. I'd favor Tom over Stipe, Sergei (again), Blaydes (not by a whole lot) and Gane. I wouldn't favor him over Jon. Almeida would be interesting because apparently he has really really good grappling. Just needs to tweak his fight IQ and strategy.

But still, we gotta see it to believe it. I'll give Tom full credit if he beats Blaydes. That will be a great win to me.

Lewis flatlined Blaydes, where do you put him though brother?

 

[Domitian]

Lewis flatlined Blaydes, where do you put him though brother?

Lewis is like a perennial Top 10 fighter in his prime. He's not bad at all and he has the power to put dudes away with 1 good shot. He's superb at not getting finished on the ground when it goes there and standing he can KO anyone.

Blaydes made a really bad mental error in that fight, but if they fight 10 times you can't honestly say you think Lewis would win more of them. Blaydes is a very dangerous man. I rank him highly and have a good opinion of him.

 

[StonedLemur]

Lewis is like a perennial Top 10 fighter in his prime. He's not bad at all and he has the power to put dudes away with 1 good shot. He's superb at not getting finished on the ground when it goes there and standing he can KO anyone.

Blaydes made a really bad mental error in that fight, but if they fight 10 times you can't honestly say you think Lewis would win more of them. Blaydes is a very dangerous man. I rank him highly and have a good opinion of him.

Lewis wasn't in his prime in that fight tbf though.
If you look at Tom's top ten wins he has 4, and if I'm not mistaken Blaydes has 3 or 4...what separates them?

 

[StonedLemur]

So 1 top 5 win... which puts him on Par with Jones HW run..

But when you consider entire careers...Stipe and Jones are the most proven at the HW division currently. That was my original point...


I guess only time will tell...

That one top 5 win was the scariest guy in the division, and Tom beheaded him sir.

 

[laleggenda27]

Shavkat has finished a bunch of people too, but he's still untested against the best of the best. Nobody is saying Tom isn't elite, were saying Tom hasn't proved it yet against the other elites of his division. Finishing Spivac and Volkov doesn't guarantee he'd walk through someone like Jones yet he's being crowned king of the world. Pump the breaks.

I'm not sure why you're bringing up Shavkat, but even that comparison falls a bit short. Both guys have fought 3 top 10 opponents. Shavkat had a back-and-forth war with Geoff Neal before finishing him in the 3rd, and he went 10 full minutes against both Wonderboy and Magny. Aspinall finished his 3 opponents in just over 6 minutes COMBINED.

And saying that Aspinall is "untested against the best of the best" is strange considering he flattened #2 Pavlovich. Are you saying that only beating Jones would qualify? If so, that's also weird considering Jones won't fight him.

I've never professed a "guarantee that he'd walk through someone like Jones." So again, I'm not sure why you're saying that.

 

[Domitian]

Lewis wasn't in his prime in that fight tbf though.
If you look at Tom's top ten wins he has 4, and if I'm not mistaken Blaydes has 3 or 4...what separates them?

No Lewis wasn't, but he timed a really good uppercut and put Blaydes lights out. It is what it is. Blaydes went for a naked takedown and paid the ultimate price for it. Really bad mental error but I'm not going to judge Blaydes forever based on that 1 mistake. Since 2016 he's 14-4 in the division with 2 losses to
Francis ( Former Champ), one to Pavlovich (also a great fighter), and Lewis (Huge KO power). He's actually pretty good all things considered. Maybe not THE best in the division but clearly a cut above most.

I'm not sure what you mean by what separates them. Tom and Curtis are 2 completely different fighters with skills and attributes. I have a high opinion of Tom as well so I'm not sure where were going with this.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

it's the best possible scenario. at this point, i hope jones loses. it's such a joke what they're doing, it's dishonest, and i'm rooting for STIPE all the fucking way. beat jones, then fight blaydes for the real champ.