Tom Aspinall takes jabs at Francis Ngannou for not facing "elite" fighters, talks Renan Ferreira matchup: "The elite guys are not in PFL"

Tom Aspinall last entered the octagon in July when he defeated Curtis Blaydes via first-round knockout at UFC 304 to defend his interim heavyweight title for the first time. While he remains sidelined awaiting the UFC 309 title bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, the No. 1-ranked heavyweight recently weighed in on a different bout featuring a former UFC heavyweight champion.

Aspinall claimed that it is difficult to label Ngannou as the best heavyweight in the world as his upcoming opponent, Renan Ferreira, is not elite. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on his new self-titled show, he stated:

"I have a lot of respect for Francis. I have a lot of respect for him and I really appreciate his story. I really appreciate what he's done in the sport, but it's hard to debate right now. The guy he's fighting, he's not elite, do you know what I mean? And the guys he'll be fighting in the future aren't elite and it's as simple as that. These aren't the best guys in the world."

Aspinall continued:

"The guy he's fighting fought a friend of mine and a training partner of mine, Ante Delija, [two years ago] and Ante just destroyed him within a minute or two, took him down, ground and pounded him and stopped him within the first minute and now this guy's fighting Francis Ngannou so the guy isn't elite, his opponent... The elite guys are not in the PFL. The elite guys are in the UFC... It's difficult to say that he's the best heavyweight in the world when he isn't fighting elite guys."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments on Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira below (28:31):

Ngannou is set to make his highly-anticipated return to mixed martial arts against Renan Ferreira at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants this weekend. He has not competed in the sport since January 2022 when he defeated Ciryl Gane via unanimous decision at UFC 270 to defend his heavyweight title.

'The Predator' wound up vacating the title and leaving the UFC in January 2023. He later signed with the PFL and competed in high-profile boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

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Tom Aspinall shares his goals for his UFC career

Tom Aspinall recently responded to Jon Jones' claims that he will not be able to match the latter's UFC record of 15 wins in title bouts. During his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the No. 1-ranked heavyweight shared that he is not interested in breaking records or being the best heavyweight ever, claiming:

"I don't want to win as many championships as him. I just want to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. That's all... Don't care. I want to make as much money as I can in the shortest amount of time possible and then bounce and do something else. And I want to get out of this sport healthy so once I've done what I want to do, I'll be done. I've got no interest in being the best heavyweight ever."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments on his UFC career goals below (27:14)

Aspinall has shared that he will serve as the backup for the upcoming UFC 309 title bout. It is expected that it will be the final appearance in both Jones and Stipe Miocic's legendary mixed martial arts careers.