Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov are two of the greatest fighters that UFC has ever had. GSP has won gold in two weight divisions in the UFC. He has defended the welterweight belt back-to-back from 2008 to 2013. Whereas ‘The Eagle’ stands as one of the greatest 155lbs fighters in the history of MMA with an unbeaten record of 29-0-0.
‘The Eagle’ even once expressed his desire to face St-Pierre in a fight as he was his late father’s favorite fighter. Even though the fight never materialised but the debate about the greatest fighter has been going on for years now. There have been MMA stars who have shared their take on the debate surrounding GSP vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov. Among them was British UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall who is on the verge of greatness himself.
Tom Aspinall once joined Ariel Helwani for an interview show The MMA Hour on MMA Fighting on SBN. During the interview, Aspinall expressed his take on why he thinks GSP deserves the greatest of all-time title. He said,
“Well let me tell you this is what I think to be the greatest of all time. This is this is gonna sound like madness but um GSP first ordered it in two weight divisions amen. But also GSP had some bad losses and came back eventually. Now to me that is a sign of a real champion. Of course you can be like Khabib, and you can be all the rest of it, and that’s brilliant, but what does he do under the adversity? We still don’t know because he’s that much better than everybody else. But in my opinion, two weights, that’s the difference. The two weights.” (9:23 – 10:01)
‘Honey Badger’ pointed out and praised St-Pierre for being a champion both in the welterweight and the middleweight divisions. He also expressed how after a couple of losses GSP bounced back to dominate and that this makes ‘Rush’ the greatest of all time. However, both ‘The Eagle’ and GSP have their own legacy when it comes to MMA and their record. The two fighters have had different motivations and accomplishments that make them stand out respectfully.
With this in mind, it is imperative to note that Tom Aspinall is on his way to create a legacy for himself. He will become only the third fighter from the United Kingdom to win a belt in the UFC if he is successful this weekend. He can soon be on the list of greatest heavyweights.
Tom Aspinall touted to be the greatest of all time
‘Honey Badger’ has an early start with mixed martial arts and also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He signed with the UFC in 2020 and before that, he used to compete with Cage Warriors. Aspinall is now returning to the octagon after a one year break due to his knee injury. The injury happened in 2022 when the 30-year-old fighter lost against Curtis Blaydes. He currently has a professional MMA record of 13-3-0 and is set to make his comeback against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.
The fighter has excellent skills and was also praised by Michael Bisping. While in a conversation with Sky Sports, Bisping mentioned Jon Jones and expressed how Aspinall is on his way to becoming the greatest heavyweights. He said,
“Jon Jones is the heavyweight champion. He’s incredible. He’s one of the greatest of all time. I don’t think he can hold a candle to Tom. I think Tom will do the same thing to Jon Jones as what he did to Marcin Tybura. I don’t think there’s anyone that can stop Tom Aspinall. He’s that good.” (1:02 to 1:18)
‘The Count’ praised Aspinall after his victory at UFC Fight Night 224 against Marcin Tybura. Bisping said that Aspinall has what it takes to be a great fighter. He further added that if Aspinall defeats Jon Jones, he will go on to become the greatest heavyweight champion.
Fans all around the world are awaiting for the great spectacle to unfold at UFC 295. It will be interesting to see if Aspinall succeeds in carving his legacy and making his return to the octagon a sight to behold.
