"He's like a heavyweight Muhammad Ali" - Tom Aspinall gets heavily backed by UFC legend with bold comparison

Tom Aspinall was recently compared to Muhammad Ali by a UFC Hall of Famer. According to the Hall of Famer, Aspinall is a heavyweight version of Ali, noting that he is light on his feet and can move swiftly in the octagon.

Aspinall currently reigns as the UFC heavyweight champion and is scheduled to defend his undisputed title against Ciryl Gane on Oct. 25 at UFC 321.

In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping was asked to preview Aspinall's upcoming fight against Gane. In response, Bisping praised the Brit, saying:

"Tom [Aspinall] is gigantic... He's big, he's light on his feet, he can move. I always say he's like a heavyweight Muhammad Ali or Mixed Martial Arts Muhammad Ali or a heavyweight Georges St-Pierre. He can grapple, he can do it all. And we saw what happened with Ciryl Gane against Jon Jones."

He added:

"So, more than likely, I heavily lean towards Tom Aspinall in this fight. But it's mixed martial arts. If Ciryl can stop the takedowns, then this gets very interesting."

Check out Michael Bisping's comments below (13:30):

---

Rising heavyweight contender previews Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane fight

Tom Aspinall currently boasts a UFC record of 8-1, with recent victories against notable fighters such as Curtis Blaydes and Sergei Pavlovich. On the other hand, Ciryl Gane is on a two-fight winning streak, having defeated Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov in his last two matches.

During an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida provided a preview of the upcoming fight between Aspinall and Gane, stating:

"I'm pretty sure that Aspinall beats Gane. It seems like Gane has other priorities in his life right now. Once you're fighting at this level, there can't be no other priority. If you're fighting at this level, if you're fighting for the heavyweight crown of the UFC, you have to be all in, and it doesn't seem like that’s the case for Gane right now. I get it that he's taking it because who’s not going to take another title fight for the heavyweight belt? But I think his priorities are in a different place now." [11:12 of the interview video]