Tom Aspinall already considers himself the best heavyweight in the world, but don’t expect him to get into any arguments about his standing in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Ahead of his interim title defense against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, Aspinall addressed UFC CEO Dana White constantly touting Jon Jones as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Jones currently holds the UFC heavyweight title after just one fight in the division, but his legacy was built as the longest reigning light heavyweight champion in UFC history.
Outside of a disqualification loss for throwing illegal elbows, Jones’ résumé is perfect and he’s been fighting at the highest level in the UFC for the past 16 years. That’s all impressive, but Aspinall still has no idea how it equates to a pound-for-pound ranking for Jones — or for anybody else, for that matter.
“What is this pound-for-pound bullshit?” Aspinall said during UFC 304 media day. “It’s a load of rubbish. It just doesn’t even make sense. Don’t get me started on that shit. It’s just like, how can you have a pound-for-pound [ranking]? What does that [mean]?”
Truth be told, there’s no exact definition for the pound-for-pound rankings, so Aspinall makes a valid argument.
For some, pound-for-pound effectively just means the best fighter in the world regardless of weight class. There’s also an argument made that the top pound-for-pound fighters should be those who have accomplished the most across multiple divisions.
Others define pound-for-pound as a test of skills, which basically boils down to if all fighters were matched up against each other at the same size and weight, who would be the best?
It’s that final argument that Aspinall bumps up against the most.
“Does that mean if everyone’s the same size?” Aspinall said. “So how can you compare Demetrious Johnson’s style to Brock Lesnar’s style and say if they’re the same? Like, they’ve got completely different attributes.
“I’ve got a bulldog, right? It’s like saying if my bulldog had a really long neck, who would win [in a fight] a giraffe or the bulldog? It’s absolute bullshit. How can you even compare it? It’s a load of rubbish.”
Throughout history, heavyweights have often struggled to get recognition in the pound-for-pound rankings because rarely does any fighter stay on top of that division for very long, but that also speaks to the dangers that come along with that weight class.
Prior to UFC 304 fight week, Blaydes spoke about heavyweights almost being graded on a different curve than athletes from every other division due to the inherent risks that comes along with facing the hardest hitting fighters in the sport.
Aspinall tends to agree. He knows heavyweights don’t get as much credit as well-rounded mixed martial artists, but he also knows some stereotypes about the big boys are actually accurate.
“We’re definitely getting better in terms of skill,” Aspinall said of the heavyweights. “But I think as far as guys who actually are good in all aspects of MMA, I think there’s probably seven or eight of us who are like elite level at MMA.
“The other guys are more like guys who could knock you out, and that’s really it. Heavyweight MMA kind of has its own rules in that regard. In any other division, you need to be fully skilled everywhere; where, in the heavyweight division, there’s still guys knocking around who they just need to hit you once but they’re not really great everywhere else.”
