There have been many heavyweight fighters who’ve made a mark in the UFC. From Stipe Miocic to Jon Jones, the division has had many great fighters. Meanwhile, Joe Rogan recently made a case for Tom Aspinall as the next big thing in the UFC. He told Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in a recent episode of the JRE podcast that the new interim heavyweight champion is the next generation of heavyweight fighters.

Tom Aspinall achieved his first UFC milestone at UFC 295. He knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event to win the interim heavyweight championship. As such, Aspinall’s recent performance has led Joe Rogan to make a statement about the British fighter. Let’s see what he had to say.

Joe Rogan claims Tom Aspinall is a next-generation heavyweight fighter

The 56-year-old recently had Dwayne Johnson for the first time as a guest on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’. While talking about heavyweight fighters, the Hollywood A-lister asked Rogan who he thinks is the best fighter in that division. The JRE host replied immediately and named Tom Aspinall.

“Tom Aspinall [the next big heavyweight star], the guy who just won the interim title. He’s phenomenal,” said Joe Rogan. He mentioned that he sees Aspinall’s skillset as the next generation of heavyweight fighters. It is primarily due to the fact that he is a well-rounded MMA fighter.

“He is the next advancement of the evolution of the sport… because he can do everything,” Joe Rogan further stated. He also added that the 30-year-old has some exceptional skills in grappling and striking, which is not comparable to other heavyweight fighters.

“That guy has got elite jiu-jitsu, he’s got elite takedown [and] his striking is outstanding,” said Rogan about Tom Aspinall. Furthermore, he also gave his take on how the UFC 295 co-main event went down. Let’s take a look at that front.

JRE host praised Aspinall for putting on a great performance with a broken back

Joe Rogan knows the threat that a fighter like Sergei Pavlovich poses in front of his opponent. The Russian fighter knocked out every fighter in the 1st round before making his way to UFC 295. However, he could not get the job done against Tom Aspinall.

Rogan praised the British fighter for giving Pavlovich a dose of his own medicine by knocking him out in the first round. He said, “He knocked out Sergei [Pavlovich], who’s the scariest f***ing striker in all of MMA. And he [Aspinall] knocked him out in the first round.”

The 56-year-old also mentioned how Tom Aspinal had broken his back during training much earlier than he got the call to fight at UFC 295. He took the fight on short notice and still emerged victorious and earned the championship. “The way he did was picture-perfect, and he did it with a f**ed up back. He f**ed his back up and wasn’t able to train… cos’ he only got the fight call two weeks before the event,” Joe Rogan added.

Read More: Tom Aspinall Surpasses Francis Ngannou in This Aspect After UFC 295 Claims Former MMA Veteran

With Jon Jones away for a few months due to injury, it seems like Tom Aspinall will be fighting for his title on the line. It remains to be seen if he can defend the title by beating his future opponents in the same fashion as he did last time out. We will have to wait and see what happens when Aspinall’s next fight is announced.

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