"Lad is too humble" - Fans laud Tom Aspinall's "honest assessment" of potential clash with "scary man" Francis Ngannou

Tom Aspinall has established himself as a fan favorite, with strong support from a considerable portion of the MMA community backing him to take on Jon Jones for the undisputed heavyweight championship. While Aspinall's hopes of a fight against Jones are on the back burner for now, he remains a pivotal figure in any discussions regarding the heavyweight landscape in the sport.

Most recently, Aspinall posted a video with Norwegian rock climber Magnus Midtbø on his YouTube channel. Midtbo became the latest recipient of the UK MMA star's 'Dead Leg Challenge'. Meanwhile, Aspinall also shed light on a potential clash against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in the 'Ask Tom' section of the video. Previewing the potential clash, he said:

"That's a great fight... I think it's a 50/50 fight, to be honest, Francis is a scary man. But I think technically I would take the edge."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below:

Check out the full video below:

Fight fans were impressed by Aspinalls' honest take on a potential fight against Ngannou. They wrote:

"Lad is too humble."

"Very honest assessment. Tom being a gentleman as always too."

"Francis is past his time respectfully. Aspinall could just take him down and submit him."

"Alright, we need one fight night a year where top fighters from multiple MMA organizations can come together and fight each other."

Check out some of the reactions below:

Fans react to Tom Aspinall's take on a potential clash against Francis Ngannou. [Images courtesy: @ChampRDS on X]

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Tom Aspinall questions Francis Ngannou's status as an elite heavyweight fighter

Tom Aspinall recently claimed that Francis Ngannou’s upcoming fight against Renan Ferreira lacks the legitimacy required to validate his status as the best. He pointed out that Ferreira is not considered an elite competitor, which raises questions about the caliber of fighters Ngannou has been facing.

He noted that Ferreira’s previous performance against one of Aspinall’s training partners, Ante Delija, illustrates the disparity in competition, as Delija finished Ferreira quickly. Aspinall argues that although Ferreira is physically imposing and capable of knockout power, he does not represent the elite level of heavyweight fighters. Shedding light on the matter in a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Aspinall said:

"The guy [Renan Ferreira] isn’t elite. Yeah, he’s big, he’s powerful. Yeah, he could knock you out, but he’s not an elite heavyweight. I’m not disrespecting him. The elite guys are not in the PFL. The elite guys are in the UFC. It’s difficult to say that [Ngannou] is the best heavyweight in the world when he isn’t fighting elite guys right now.”

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (28:00):