Francis Ngannou's Coach Picks Out The Harder Matchup Between Jon Jones & Tom Aspinall

When Francis Ngannou departed the UFC, fans were disappointed to have not seen the fight with Jon Jones come together.

The heavyweight division has been in a strange place ever since, with Jones being back but the former champ being gone.

Having vacated the title and moved on to other pursuits, it spelt the end for one of the biggest fights in the sport today between the two men.

This feeling of the heavyweight division being a bit out of sorts was only added to following the injury that forced Jones out of UFC 295.

With fans having to wait around a year to finally see him face Stipe Miocic in a fight that wasn’t gathering a lot of hype in the first place, Tom Aspinall stepped up to the plate.

Eric Nicksick Gives His Take On Whether Tom Aspinall Is A Tougher Fight For Francis Ngannou Than Jon Jones Would Have Been

In the heavyweight trio of Jones, Miocic and Ngannou, there are fights we want to see but can’t and fights that probably shouldn’t be happening and that makes Aspinall a breath of fresh air.

A lot of people are already considering him to be the heavyweight champion following his interim title win this past weekend, where he stopped Sergei Pavlovich.

Just like with Ngannou’s time in the UFC, the fans want to see Jones face the biggest threat to him right now, and that is undoubtedly Aspinall but it doesn’t look like that will happen.

Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick has an interesting viewpoint on the UFC’s heavyweight division as the man who helped coach Ngannou to the top of the sport, giving his take on whether Jones or Aspinall would be the tougher match-up for his fighter.

On the latest episode of Remember The Show, Nicksick provided arguments for both fighters – but had a definitive answer.

“That’s a great question Bully, I mean you have to go with the guy who’s considered the GOAT. I would have to say Jon Jones just because of pedigree, history, you know the man that Jon Jones is and the champion that he is but I think upside definitely goes to Tom Aspinall. I think Tom Aspinall reminds me of a Francis Ngannou in a lot of ways that I still think his athleticism is just scratching the surface. I think there’s a lot more that you’re gonna see from Tom Aspinall as far as his growth and maturation goes as the heavyweight champ.”     

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that we will ever see any combination of the former, current or interim UFC heavyweight champion in the Octagon together.

Read also: Tom Aspinall Told He Got ‘Too Emotional’ After Interim Title Win At UFC 295: ‘It’s Not The Real Thing!’

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