UFC's most dominant heavyweight ever hasn't even fought for the title

Being the heavyweight champion has to be the most chest-thumping experience possible for a fighter, if for no other reason than that the title comes with the swaggering nickname "baddest man on the planet."

That glorifying designation first surfaced widely in boxing in the late 1980s during the heavyweight championship reign of Mike Tyson. His aggression, punching power and spine-chilling demeanor left opponents defeated by intimidation as much as fisticuffs. No one since has duplicated his fearsome aura in boxing, and the "baddest man" moniker has essentially shifted to MMA, a sport with a broader variety of combat engagement than anything the Marquess of Queensberry ever envisioned. Just ask three-weight boxing champion James Toney, who was taken off his feet with ease by Randy Couture within 18 seconds and beaten down for the duration of their one-sided 2010 UFC fight.

When an MMA heavyweight gains recognition as the "baddest man on the planet," it's often an outgrowth of the story behind how he won the championship. Francis Ngannou captured the UFC belt in 2021 by knocking out Stipe Miocic, whose three title defenses established a heavyweight record that still stands. Miocic first won the title in 2016 by knocking out Fabricio Werdum, who earlier had secured a place of honor in the sport's annals by finishing two of the greatest ever, Fedor Emelianenko and Cain Velasquez. Velasquez, whose multifaceted skill set and revving engine made him unlike any previous heavyweight, became UFC champion in 2010 with an iconic wrecking of the seemingly indestructible Brock Lesnar.

Contrast those splashy ascents to the top of the mountain with the unimpeded rise of the current owner of the UFC heavyweight belt, Tom Aspinall. Whereas Ngannou, Miocic and many other greats established their supremacy with statement victories, Aspinall did not dethrone a reigning champion to gain the title. The UFC simply elevated him from interim champion to undisputed champ four months ago to fill a vacancy left by the retirement of Jon Jones.

Aspinall will defend the belt for the first time on Saturday, facing third-time title challenger Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV, prelims at 10 a.m. on ESPN+). But even before the new champion steps inside the Octagon this weekend, here's something essential to know about him: Aspinall has already established himself as the most dominant heavyweight in MMA history.

If that sounds premature or even preposterous, consider that this is not a proclamation that Aspinall (15-3) is the greatest heavyweight ever. That's an honor generally bestowed upon Emelianenko, who amassed a 29-fight unbeaten streak that extended for nearly the entire first decade of the 2000s.

Aspinall is not MMA's most accomplished heavyweight, either. There's a strong argument there for Miocic, who defended the UFC title more than anyone else and owns the heavyweight record with six title fight wins. Perhaps the most accomplished is Couture, the only fighter to reign three times as UFC heavyweight champion.

They're extraordinary heavyweights, every one of them, but none sustained dominance the way Aspinall has.

Aspinall is 8-1 in the UFC, his only loss being the result of a freak noncontact injury. He blew out his knee in the opening seconds of a 2022 bout with Curtis Blaydes, and in addition to being saddled with a 15-second "TKO (Injury)" loss, Aspinall ended up sidelined for a year. He would step in with Blaydes again in 2024 and win by knockout in one minute. That victory fell right in line with the rest of Aspinall's UFC résumé, as all but one of his eight wins ended in the first round, the most recent three in 1 minute, 13 seconds or faster.

According to ESPN Research, Aspinall's seven first-round wins are the most by any fighter in any weight class through nine Octagon appearances in the promotion's modern era (since UFC 28 in 2000).

Some other shiny Aspinall statistics:

• He has the shortest average fight time in UFC history (2 minutes, 2 seconds).

• He has spent the least time in bottom position of any fighter in UFC history (1 second).

• His 4.09 knockdowns per 15 minutes of fight time average is the most in UFC heavyweight history (second-most in any weight class).

• His 8.07 significant strikes landed per minute average is the most in UFC heavyweight history (third-most in any weight class).

• His significant strike differential (strikes landed minus strikes absorbed) of plus-5.18 per minute is the highest in UFC history.

Aspinall is dominance personified. Unprecedented dominance.

Emelianenko, for all of his greatness, had to persevere through perilous moments during his lengthy unbeaten run, none more so than in a Pride fight in 2004, when he was suplexed onto his head by Kevin Randleman (before turning things around for his 15th straight win). And when Emelianenko was submitted by Werdum in a 2010 Strikeforce match, it was the first of three straight defeats. One can be an all-time great yet not dominant all the time.

Miocic had his ups and downs as well. He owns the heavyweight title defense record but was knocked out four times in the Octagon -- although Miocic should get a pass on the last one, against Jones just under a year ago, because he'd been retired for 3½ years before returning to the cage as a 42-year-old shadow of his old self. Even in his prime, though, Miocic didn't dominate like Aspinall.

Couture doesn't have the dominance of Aspinall, either. Nor does Ngannou, Werdum or anyone else. Couture had those three heavyweight reigns but also lost three heavyweight title bouts. Ngannou is as explosive as Aspinall, if not more so, but in 2018 he took consecutive losses to Miocic and Derrick Lewis. Werdum had unparalleled grappling chops -- 12 submissions among 24 wins -- but lost nine times in his career. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira beat Couture, Werdum, Mark Coleman, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Dan Henderson but lost 10 fights. Then there's Jones, inarguably the greatest ever at light heavyweight, but having competed at heavyweight just twice, he grades out as an incomplete.

If anyone from MMA's past showed Aspinall-level supreme dominance, it was Ronda Rousey. She won her first 12 fights, every one of them by finish, all but one in the first round. The final three fights during that untouchable run ended in 16, 14 and 34 seconds. But then it all fell apart for "Rowdy Ronda," thanks to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.

At heavyweight, the story was much the same with Shane Carwin. He also built a 12-0 record on fast finishes -- in his case, every one of them came in Round 1. Carwin was on his way to adding a 13th demolition, until Lesnar withstood a first-round beatdown and survived to the horn. When Round 2 began, Carwin was in uncharted waters, and Lesnar drowned him. So much for big-boy dominance.

Some might say Aspinall, like Jones, deserves an incomplete grade. But while he has yet to make a single defense of the undisputed title, Aspinall did put his interim belt up for grabs once while waiting (in vain) for Jones to return. He owns a victory over a former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski. And if he defeats Gane on Saturday (as a -425 favorite by ESPN BET), Aspinall will have beaten the four UFC heavyweights situated right behind him in the ESPN divisional rankings. That's a heavy dose of dominance for a career that feels like it's just getting started.

At age 32, Aspinall has time to accomplish much more and face down any challenges lurking ahead. No one has slowed his roll yet. Will this weekend add another stellar chapter to a story that's been all his, or will it change the narrative on Tom Aspinall entirely?