Tom Aspinall has opened up about who he believes is the greatest jiu-jitsu competitor to have ever exhibited his skills in the UFC.
In his esteemed career, the powerhouse has cemented his status as a truly phenomenal puncher, rendering unconscious anybody he lands on.
The performances from the interim champion have been so impressive that Colby Covington thinks Jon Jones will retire rather than fight Aspinall.
However, he’s much more than a mere striker, with the Englishman possessing a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Thus, it comes as no major surprise that he has a lot of respect for this legend.
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Tom Aspinall says Demian Maia is the greatest jiu-jitsu practitioner in UFC history
Tom Aspinall believes that nobody in the history of the UFC has showcased better jiu-jitsu in mixed martial arts than Demian Maia.
The ADCC gold medallist was nothing short of terrifying when he got ahold of someone, exhibiting tremendous skills to lock in frightening submissions that left his opponents with no choice but to tap.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Aspinall said: “I’m going to go Demian Maia. I don’t know what his credentials are in jiu-jitsu; there might be guys out there with better jiu-jitsu credentials than him outside of MMA. I judge it on how effective they are in MMA, because that’s the sport we’re talking about.
“Demian Maia, he was predominantly a jiu-jitsu specialist, he didn’t have much else in the locker. But he was still taking everybody down and submitting them.
“The thing that makes Demian Maia so good, is that everybody knew what was coming, but very limited amount of people could stop him doing it. He’s my jiu-jitsu GOAT in MMA.”
Demian Maia fought for the UFC title on two occasions
The jiu-jitsu World Cup winner was a fantastic operator in his prime. Like Aspinall said, he may have had a limited amount of tools, but when his fights hit the floor, he was nothing short of terrifying.
In his esteemed career, the grappler fought for the UFC title twice, in losing efforts against Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley.
However, while those contests didn’t go the exact way he planned, the Brazilian still compiled a fantastic resume.
During his time in the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, he picked up a plethora of big wins, submitting Ben Askren, Carlos Condit and Matt Brown.