With Jon Jones retiring, UFC champion Tom Aspinall is discussed as part of a new blockbuster heavyweight fantasy fight.
After a record-long regime as an interim champion, Aspinall was eventually increased to undisputed status after Dana White announced the pension of Jones of MMA.
That news ended the long back and forth over the question of whether Jones vs. Aspinall would come out and it would overcome from the Unification confrontation as a heavyweight King.
But the collapse of that matchup does not mean that Aspinall without fantasy -super battles is for fans to think about.
Curtis Blaydes plucks Francis Ngannou above Tom Aspinall in heavyweight fantasy fight
In the absence of Jones, some have transferred their wishes to a super fight between Aspinall and former UFC Heavyweight Champion-PFL star Francis Ngannou. Predictions for the competition are varied, but not much comes from the kind of experience that the recent assessment of Curtis Blaydes does.
'Razor' has confronted both men twice and has lost three of those four games. Blaydes was eliminated in both fights by Ngannou before he suffered the same fate against Aspinall on UFC 304 last year. That was two years after a freak injury the American had lifted the Englishman for the first time.
With that in mind, Blaydes is well placed to break down their imagination.
“If I am going to become a gokman, I will post my money on Francis,” Blaydes said on the podcast of Joaquin Buckley's Brick Brothers.
“Only because of the range. He can be from eight centimeters away from where you can hit it. That is a huge advantage, especially in heavyweight.
“I don't know how Tom could – you just have to survive,” Blaydes went on. “I think if he would use the wrestling, but we would not have seen him use his wrestling, so I don't know how capable of a wrestler he is.
“Francis, he showed in his fight with (Ciryl) Gane that he can struggle a bit … So I'm going to go with Ngannou … I believe Tom has a way to victory, but if I bet I would put my money on Ngannou.”
Dana White's position on Francis Ngannou who returns to the UFC
Unfortunately for fans who hope the Aspinall vs. Ngannou -fight to blossom comes, similar to the collapsed Jones -Matchup of the Brit, it probably seems to stay in the empire of fantasy.
Both Dana White and 'The Predator' talked about a reunion, where the UFC -CEO replied: “probably not”, when he was asked if a comeback was on the cards for Ngannou during a recent press conference.
And while his former boss continued to ask questions about a return, 'the predator' emerged on social media to question himself when he even had the idea of ​​insisting on it himself.
For the time being, the sights of Ngannou seem to be boxing again after his successful PFL debut against Renan Ferreira in 2024.