UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is currently facing significant backlash for his recent analysis concerning a highly anticipated pay-per-view main event.
Alex Pereira is reportedly preparing for a chance at redemption this Saturday at UFC 320, nearly seven months after purportedly being unseated from his light heavyweight throne. This event, reportedly set as an October 4 headliner at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, is rumored to feature Pereira challenging Magomed Ankalaev in an immediate rematch. Despite the outcome of their previous encounter, ‘Poatan’ is said to be extremely confident about making his Dagestani rival`s potential title reign a short one.
However, Aspinall`s perspective on this matchup appears to differ significantly from Pereira’s self-assurance.
Tom Aspinall Suggests Alex Pereira Enjoyed “Favorable” Fights Until Encountering Magomed Ankalaev`s Takedown Threat
Ankalaev has allegedly declared his intention to finish Pereira decisively in a second bout, believing he possesses superior skills across all aspects compared to the powerful ex-kickboxer. In Aspinall`s view, the crucial element for Ankalaev`s victory lies in his formidable takedown threat.
During a recent broadcast of his Fight Lab show on the TNT Sports YouTube channel, the reigning heavyweight king suggested that Pereira had experienced a string of “favorable” matchups in the UFC, at least until he came up against Ankalaev’s grappling abilities.
This assertion comes despite Ankalaev having failed to land any of his 12 takedown attempts in their previous supposed encounter at UFC 313 last April. For Aspinall, the mere *potential* of a takedown is enough to be a game-changer.
“I think the matchups were quite favorable to Alex Pereira up until Magomed Ankalaev,” Aspinall commented. “Just with the threats of the takedown, even in the first fight we didn’t really see Ankalaev really go for the takedowns too much, but I think just the threat being there, stylistically he’s a bad matchup for Pereira.”
Fans Challenge Tom Aspinall`s Assessment of Alex Pereira`s UFC Record
Regarding Aspinall`s comments on takedowns, some fans quickly reminded him of Ankalaev’s actual takedown statistics, dismissing the idea that the attempts were solely meant as a threat rather than genuine efforts to bring the fight to the mat.
Others, meanwhile, disputed the claim that Pereira had an “easy” path, pointing out that Ankalaev was not the first opponent to introduce a grappling element against the Brazilian. Fan reactions included:
“Yeah, Ankalaev fighting (Ion) Cutelaba, (Johnny) Walker, Anthony Smith, (Aleksandar) Rakic…Come on,” one critic wrote, directly challenging Aspinall’s perspective on Pereira’s past opponents.
“Tom rules over a division of bums. I don’t want to see him talking about having it easy.”
“Tom’s best win is Curtis Blaydes lmao.”
“How was Jan Blachowicz a favorable matchup for Pereira when he fought him after getting knocked out by Izzy three months before?”
“Then again, the entire heavyweight division is essentially a poor matchup for anyone with a hint of athleticism.”
“Delusional.”
“Aspinall is always hating on ‘Poatan’ over eye contact they made almost 3 years ago.”
“Bruh, horrible take. He fought Jan before, and even Jiri (Prochazka) tried to wrestle with him.”
Despite the wave of criticism, Aspinall also found his share of supporters. Some fans concurred with the Englishman’s sentiment, agreeing that Ankalaev’s takedown threat could indeed be a decisive factor in undermining Pereira.
“The takedown threat is one of the MOST powerful weapons there is.”
“He’s correct.”
“I agree. Jiri has been known for having bad defense on the feet and Hill sucks…and Rountree was untested at high-level competition at the time.”
“Tom knows ball. They were trying to build (him) up, which isn’t a bad thing.”
“I mean…he’s not wrong.”