UFC Fight Night 179: Moraes vs. Sandhagen - Predictions and Picks

#5 UFC Heavyweight Division: Tom Aspinall vs. Alan Baudot

The UK's Tom Aspinall is a prospect to watch in the UFC Heavyweight division.

Another fight that's been changed on relatively late notice, this one would've seen the UK's Aspinall – who picked up an impressive win over Jake Collier in his UFC debut in July – taking on Sergei Spivak. However, with Spivak out for undisclosed reasons, UFC newcomer Baudot has stepped in to take the fight.

This makes this fight a bit tricky to pick. Baudot is 8-1 in MMA, but there's hardly any footage on him. From what I can gather, he appears to be a kickboxer coming out of the same French camp as the likes of Ciryl Gane, Christian M'Pumbu, and initially, Francis Ngannou.

Like those men, 'The Black Samourai' appears to be a grade-A athlete, with plenty of explosive speed and power and a background in kickboxing. However, given the only footage available on him is a KO loss to current UFC fighter Dalcha Lungiambula and a quick KO win over the unknown Yuto Nakajima, it's hard to really get a handle on him properly.

Aspinall, meanwhile, has gained a pretty serious reputation from his home city of Liverpool. A member of Team Kaobon alongside the likes of current UFC star Darren Till and former UFC fighters Terry Etim and Paul Kelly, he's clearly dangerous in all areas and is a ruthless finisher.

As we saw against Collier, he's deceptively fast for a big man, has brutal knockout power, and is generally an excellent Muay Thai fighter. But he's not just a kickboxer – he's also a legitimate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who has even been compared to Frank Mir thanks to his ultra-aggressive style.

Overall, Aspinall has to be favored here. Sure, he's only had one UFC fight, and that lasted a matter of seconds, but even that gives him far more experience than Baudot. And given the Frenchman is taking this fight on short notice, it's hard to imagine him having much success.

If Aspinall chooses to trade-off with Baudot, then it could be a dangerous proposition for him, as the newcomer clearly hits very hard and has skills. Assuming he doesn't do that, though, then the likeliest outcome is that he'll take the UFC newcomer down for a tapout win.

The Pick: Aspinall via first-round submission