Tom Aspinall’s Bitter Reality Check Falls on Deaf Ears as Francis Ngannou’s ‘Toughest Challenge’ Breaks Silence Before PFL Showdown

Tom Aspinall doesn’t think Francis Ngannou‘s upcoming opponent and PFL 2023 heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira is well-rounded. The UFC interim heavyweight champ thinks ‘Problema’ is not even good enough to be in the top-10 MMA heavyweights in the entire world.

However, Ferreira is totally unbothered by these comments. Speaking on the sidelines of a promotional event for his October 19 PFL: Battle of the Giants clash against Ngannou, Ferreira said that he would let his performances speak for themselves and expressed utter indifference to Aspinall’s comments.

“He can say whatever he wants. I think everybody sees what I’m doing- all the knockouts, all the great performances that I’m delivering. So I don’t need to speak too much about it. I need to let my work show and speak for itself… No, it didn’t offend me at all, and I’m really proud of what I know about the work I’ve been doing,” ‘Problema’ said in his native Portuguese in a recent interview.

Aspinall, to be fair, is one of the most respectful fighters you will ever come across. So why did the Englishman denounce Ferreira so harshly? One of the UFC champion’s teammates, Ante Delija, was able to take Ferreira down and maul him on the ground in their PFL 8: 2022 Playoffs clash. Aspinall feels that Ferreira just hasn’t fought any real elite guys since the biggest names are in the UFC. And despite their upcoming clash, Francis Ngannou has jumped in to defend Ferreira.

Ngannou rubbishes Tom Aspinall’s comments about Renan Ferreira

Francis Ngannou also doesn’t really care what Tom Aspinall thinks of Renan Ferreira as a fighter. Interestingly, the former UFC champion has the polar opposite view of ‘Problema’. Speaking to the media, ‘The Predator’ claimed that Ferreira was even better than the likes of Aspinall and Jon Jones. Channeling his inner Dana White, the Cameroonian declared that if Ferreira walked into the room with all of the heavyweights in the world, the Brazilian would be the only one to walk out.

“Why should I be caring about people’s opinions… My opinion is that Renan Ferreira is a very tough opponent… I think if they put all the heavyweights in the room and closed the door, I believe Renan Ferreira would be among the guys surviving,” Ngannou said.

Of course, the lack of quality fighters is one of the most potent charges made at the PFL and other MMA promotions not named the UFC. And this perception, regardless of how true or false, is one of the main reasons why these promotions stand nowhere near the UFC. To the point that MMA has essentially become synonymous with the UFC.

That is why Ngannou, a former UFC champion, going to the PFL is such a big deal. And just how right Aspinall is about Ferreira will be proven on October 19 when he faces a bonafide elite-level fighter. What are your thoughts on Ferreira and Ngannou’s reaction to Tom Aspinall’s comments?