Jon Jones is back. So is Francis Ngannou. And Tom Aspinall? He’s been here all along.
Rankings Show: Is Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, or Francis Ngannou the true heavyweight king?
Alexander K. Lee is an editor for MMA Fighting who has been covering combat sports since 2014.
So with all three big men scoring pivotal wins in 2024, who is the one true king of the heavyweight division?
Is it Jones, the relative neophyte who is just 2-0 in the weight class, but still carrying the aura that comes with being undefeated throughout his career?
Is it Ngannou, the lineal heavyweight champion who left the UFC without ever dropping his belt?
Or is it Aspinall, the man who defended an interim heavyweight title while Jones sat on the sidelines waiting for a Stipe Miocic fight that lost intrigue with every passing day?
Theoretically, there’s no wrong answer, but the MMA Fighting rankings panel of Alexander K. Lee, Damon Martin, Jed Meshew, and E. Casey Leydon give their best arguments as to why each of these fighters (with apologies to Reug Reug) has a claim to be No. 1.
Watch the latest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show above or listen below and don’t forget to subscribe to the MMA Fighting feed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your other favorite podcast platforms for the latest episodes from the team.
