Tom Aspinall achieved his first UFC milestone at UFC 295. He knocked out Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim heavyweight championship in the co-main event. As such, the MMA legend, Chael Sonnen, made a startling statement about Aspinall. ‘The American Gangster’ believes that the 30-year-old has overtaken Francis Ngannou in one aspect.

Tom Aspinall took the fight against Sergei Pavlovich on short notice. Both heavyweights filled in for the canceled bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. Moreover, Aspinall registered a statement win after knocking out the Russian in the first round of the fight. The decisive win has led Chael Sonnen to believe that he is now the talk of the town. Let’s see what he had to say.

Chael Sonnen believes that Tom Aspinall has surpassed Francis Ngannou

Tom Aspinall’s recent performance seems to have impressed ‘The American Gangster’. He believes that the win over Sergei Pavlovich has made him the most talked about heavyweight fighter in the world. However, that moniker belonged to Francis Ngannou a week ago. Chael Sonnen said, “What is next for Tom [Aspinall] is now the hottest topic and it wasn’t a week ago, Francis [Ngannou] was.”

Chael Sonnen mentioned how Francis Ngannou had a mysterious aura about him. That led fans to tune in to see what he was up to after his boxing match against Tyson Fury. “Francis was so mysterious and we knew so little. His own promoter was coming out but not giving us a lot,” said Sonnen.

Francis Ngannou did not beat Tyson Fury, but he put up a great fight against one of the greatest heavyweight boxers ever. This led to speculations that ‘The Predator’ might take on Deontay Wilder next. However, that is not the case anymore, and things have changed since then.

‘This was red hot news [rumors of Francis Ngannou fighting Deontay Wilder, and now, it’s just a story. It’s number three and number four down,” said Chael Sonnen. He also mentioned a similarity between Tom Aspinall and Francis Ngannou. Let’s take a look at that front.

Sonnen pointed out a similarity between the accomplishments of Aspinall and ‘The Predator’

Tom Aspinall is a credible contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division. He boasts a great record, but he did not make much buzz in the MMA world before his UFC 295 victory. Similarly, Chael Sonnen believes that the interim title victory against Sergei Pavlovich quickly made Aspinall a hot topic in the world of MMA. He said, “The hottest heavyweight in the world right now is Tom Aspinall, and he did very quickly.”

Moreover, the MMA legend also drew a similarity between Tom Aspinall and Francis Ngannou. People did not expect ‘The Predator’ to give tough competition to Tyson Fury, but he did and even surpassed people’s expectations. Similarly, nobody expected the co-main event of UFC 295 to end in the way that it did. As such, Aspinall surprised people just like Ngannou did. “He did largely the same way Francis did, which is by giving us a surprise. He won over Sergei Pavlovich by knockout in the very first round,” Sonnen added.

Read More: Tyson Fury Extends Warm Congratulations to “Brother” Tom Aspinall on UFC 295 Triumph

There is no word on what is next for either Francis Ngannou or Tom Aspinall. Ngannou earlier mentioned that he wants to go back to MMA before coming back into the boxing scene. As for Aspinall, there is still no word about his next fight. Although Chael Sonnen believes that he has eclipsed Ngannou, both fighters are enjoying a great phase in their professional fighting careers.

What do you make of Chael Sonnen’s assessment? Drop your comments below.

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