UFC fighters have stunned fans time and again with some staggering records. Anderson Silva’s 16-fight winning streak and Jon Jones’s 16 title fight victories have set the gold standard for champions, making many wonder if these feats will ever be broken. Then there’s Max Holloway, who’s landed a jaw-dropping 3,655 significant strikes so far. But lately, it’s the wild records of Tom Aspinall and Khamzat Chimaev that have left even MMA veterans in awe!
Tom Aspinall and Khamzat Chimaev have dominated their divisions with more than just wins—they’ve made statements. And nothing proves that better than their insane stats for time spent on the bottom. ‘Borz,’ who’s gearing up to challenge Dricus du Plessis for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 319, has spent just “six seconds” in a bottom position (next to Philip Linz’s 5 seconds). But Aspinall? The British juggernaut has an even crazier number—just “one single second” in his entire UFC career, and that came against Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night London in 2022.
That stat had already left UFC fans in awe of the two fighters and their incredible prowess. But John McCarthy took it up a notch on The Weigh-In podcast. The veteran referee said, “That does speak about Tom Aspinall and his dominance in the heavyweight division. It does speak to the dominance of Khamzat Chimaev, both in the welterweight and now in the middleweight. The fact that these guys don’t even think about being on the bottom of a fight.”
McCarthy didn’t stop there. He even compared this feat to legends of the sport like Randy Couture and Josh Barnett in their prime, two of the best wrestlers of their era, who still couldn’t match it. The podcast co-host, Josh Thomson, shared McCarthy’s admiration but also raised an interesting point. ‘The Punk’ explained, “I give Chimaev a lot of credit because there tend to be better wrestlers in the 185- and 170-pound divisions. Whereas in the heavyweight division, for Tom Aspinall, there’s really only Curtis Blaydes.”
Tom Aspinall during UFC Fight Night: London at the O2, London, England on the 22 July 2023. Copyright: xAndyxRowlandx PMI-5650-0018
Well, that’s a sharp observation from Thomson. Sure, Khamzat Chimaev was tested by Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, but that fight turned into more of a stand-and-bang affair. However, ‘Borz’ truly got pushed to his limits in the grappling department by Kamaru Usman at UFC 294! Aspinall has yet to experience in the heavyweight division.
Jon Jones was seen as the man who could take Aspinall into deep waters. Sadly, we never got to witness it, as ‘Bones’ retired before the most anticipated superfight could happen. That begs the question—who can truly test Aspinall’s grappling? It seems both John McCarthy and Josh Thomson agreed on one man.
Can Jailton Almeida become Tom Aspinall’s grappling nightmare?
The heavyweight division is known for fighters putting the lights out cold with their raw power. But Jailton Almeida’s grappling-heavy fighting style has brought him serious success against 265-pound giants. His 13 career submission victories—10 of them in the first round—prove that his grappling and jiu-jitsu are in the top echelon. However, would that be enough to put an all-around threat like Aspinall down?
Well, Josh Thomson believes Almeida could definitely cause some trouble for the British juggernaut. The MMA vet said on the Weighing In podcast, “You know the fight that kinda makes me feel like he’s gonna end up losing a lot of seconds? It’s against Jailton Almeida, because of the way Jailton Almeida threw Curtis Blaydes around.” But it didn’t take long for John McCarthy to counter that point.
The OG ref replied, “You look at that, and I agree with you—he did. But he burned out because of it.” And that’s true, as Blaydes was able to survive the back position and land elbows and hammer fists, handing the Brazilian his first-ever UFC loss. That definitely wouldn’t fly against a threat like Tom Aspinall, who’d be incredibly hard to keep down on the mat.
With that being said, what do you think about Tom Aspinall’s elite-level ground skills? And who do you think would win a grappling match between Chimaev and Aspinall? That would be a fever-dream matchup! Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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