There’s never been a more volatile time at the top of the heavyweight division across the world of MMA.
Ostensibly, Jon Jones is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in the UFC, marking him as the best on the planet. But by his next title defence, against the 43-year-old, three-years-inactive Stipe Miocic in November, it will have been almost two years without a fight for the legend.
Then, there’s Tom Aspinall. The hard-hitting Brit is who many believe to be the ‘true’ heavyweight champion. He’s won eight of his nine UFC fights and has an average came time just over two minutes, knocking out all comers in his pursuit of Jones.
But truly, nobody has been able to beat the lineal champion of the world; Francis Ngannou.
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Who is the true heavyweight champion of MMA?
Since leaving the UFC, Francis Ngannou has made the switch into boxing where he ran lineal champion Tyson Fury to a very contentious split decision before being stopped by Anthony Joshua. He is set to return to MMA action this October against last year’s PFL champion Renan Ferreira.
In the meantime, nobody has managed to properly take his throne in the UFC. Jones defeated a man Ngannou had already thoroughly outclassed to win the vacant belt in Ciryl Gane, while Aspinall has yet to land a truly big name win that cements him as the best with fans.
All the while, this year’s crop of heavyweights in the PFL have been quietly going about their business in the latest tournament. Denis Goltsov, who last year competed in the final against Ferreira, is back in the top seed and will face Tim Johnson, while Linton Vassell has been drafted in to face 18-1 Oleg Popov.
“I just had a feeling,” Vassell told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat after initially failing to reach the playoffs despite beating Valentin Moldavsky, who had qualified. “Obviously I don’t wish for anybody to get injured but since this tournament has started every heavyweight one has had a pullout.
“I was thinking it was crazy that a person I just beat was the one I was replacing, You can’t really write it, but I’m very excited.”
Linton Vassell feels PFL’s champion will be the true top heavyweight in MMA
In the time since Jones’ last outing, there are PFL heavyweights who will have competed as many as six times by the end of this Friday’s playoff show. Ngannou has even come to boxing, made a claim for their undisputed title and been stopped in that time, and likely will have returned to the cage by November.
Ultimately, the battle between Ngannou and Ferreira will symbolise something of an undisputed MMA heavyweight champion. After winning the $1million prize last year, Ferreira has since knocked out Bellator’s heavyweight champion Ryan Bader and solidified his name as a contender for the crown.
“Jon hasn’t even fought in over a year and we don’t know if he will fight again considering what’s going on,” Vassell mused. “Then Ngannou was pretty much the champ that never lost his belt, so there’s a big storyline right there.”
He’s got his hands full for the rest of the tournament, but for 41-year-old Vassell a finish line is beginning to come into sight. Should be get through the playoffs and win this year’s tournament, he is eyeing a unification with Ngannou or Ferreira that would see him realise a lifelong dream and hang up his gloves.
“I’ve got to get there first but I would love to fight either one of them,” he added. “It would be a nice, sunset, ‘it’s been good, I’ve done what I have to do’ and I could retire nicely. It would be an amazing way to go out, it sounds great.”
Linton Vassell competes in the PFL heavyweight playoffs in Nashville this Friday night. Find out how to watch here and buy tickets at Ticketmaster.com