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On hip hop artists Future and Metro Boomin's 2024 song "Like That," Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar made an appearance referencing what many believe is the present day's Hip Hop Big 3 of rappers: himself, Drake and J. Cole, before shaking up the industry and proclaiming himself as the best rapper in the world. The sanitized version of Lamar's line that set off the high-profile rap battle between Drake and himself is "Forget the Big 3, it's just big me." Another Big 3 debate is currently taking place in the world of mixed martial arts. This iteration involves the heavyweights with current UFC champion Jon Jones, interim UFC champion Tom Aspinall and former UFC champion and current PFL Super Fights champion Francis Ngannou. Unfortunately, they have yet to be locked in a cage to determine who the best heavyweight in the world is. And who knows if it will ever happen. Aspinall has been chasing a fight with Jones, who is threatening retirement after he faces Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November. As for Ngannou, he also desires a fight with Jones but is currently competing in another MMA promotion. And considering his war of words with UFC CEO Dana White, the chances of Ngannou returning to the UFC are at most, slim. Since the debate cannot be settled with a sanctioned MMA bout, ESPN asked fighters, analysts and coaches to rank the three heavyweights to determine who the current "Big Me" of this version of the Big 3 is. Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim then broke down the results and make the case for each fighter's candidacy for the current king of the heavyweight mountain. Editor's note: ESPN reached out to Dominick Cruz, Gilbert Melendez, Din Thomas, Dustin Poirier, Chael Sonnen, Alan Jouban, Rashad Evans, Angela Hill and Derrick Lewis for their votes and insights on the three heavyweights in question. Each first-place vote is worth three points, a second-place vote is worth two points, and a third-place vote is worth one point.
The case for Jon Jones: First place, 20 points (4 first-place votes)Wagenheim: Making a case for Jones being the best in MMA -- at anything -- is never a stretch. He is the consensus GOAT of the sport and has the most legitimate claim to the esteemed label of the baddest man on the planet. "Bones" is not the only one who can make that claim, of course, but as the reigning heavyweight champion in the UFC, he can fortify his candidacy by competing against the finest roster of big dudes in the sport and by being associated with a fight company with the promotional muscle to amplify Jones' case loud and clear. But this is no empty hype job. Jones is the greatest fighter who ever stepped into a cage. Period. End of story. And even though he's stepped in as a heavyweight only once, he did so against a legit big guy -- Ciryl Gane, who had competed for the UFC title barely a year earlier -- and made him look like an overwhelmed regional scene dude who was in over his head. That heavyweight debut was all former Strikeforce and WEC lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez needed to see of the enlarged version of Jones to proclaim his supremacy. "He beat Ciryl Gane and has a more complete toolset than the other two," Melendez said. "With a toolset like Jones', you can take the path of least resistance and show how world-class you are." While the "other two" -- Aspinall and Ngannou -- have their supporters who claim they're the top heavyweight, but Dustin Poirier, for one, isn't buying their candidacies. Why is Jones No. 1? "He's never lost. He's the best in MMA history," said Poirier, a three-time UFC lightweight title challenger. Why not Aspinall or Ngannou? "I think Jones beats both of them, simple as that," said Poirier. Heavyweight Derrick Lewis, who owns a victory over Ngannou, agrees. "He's never lost and has been doing this at a high level with all kinds of things going on outside the cage," said Lewis. "He's the best until somebody beats him." Not only has Jones not lost -- aside from a dubious disqualification 15 years ago -- said Chael Sonnen, "he's shown no weakness." Sonnen, who challenged for titles in the UFC, WEC and Bellator, doesn't even rank Aspinall or Ngannou as the next-best heavyweight, instead favoring UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. But he recognizes that the undersized striking specialist would have big problems with Jones. "Jones is the most decorated wrestler in the division," Sonnen said, "and he'd likely get his hands on him." Broadening the discussion to include Pereira, who until last year was campaigning at middleweight, spotlights the challenge of determining the greatest among heavyweights without seeing all of them competing against each other. But we all have imaginations, so let's just ponder this: When you conjure up a fight between Jones and anyone on the planet, do you envision Jones losing? No, you do not. It's as simple as that. Jones is the greatest until someone steps inside a cage and proves otherwise.
The case for Tom Aspinall: Second place (tie), 18 points (3 first-place votes)Okamoto: A vote for Aspinall is an understanding of the question. Who is the best heavyweight in the world right now? Obviously, Jones is the most accomplished fighter of all time in any weight class, and Ngannou has been the best heavyweight of the last five years -- but if you just simply separate names from this analysis and go by resume and eye test, Aspinall is the clear No. 1. Just look at the last four years, which isn't exactly a small sample size. Since 2021, Aspinall is 5-1 with five first-round finishes. His only loss was an injury TKO to Curtis Blaydes. Jones is 1-0, with one first-round finish. Ngannou is 3-0, with two finishes. Jones and Ngannou aren't even averaging one win per year, while Aspinall has obliterated the division. "He's younger and his skill set is more diverse," said ESPN analyst Din Thomas. "He's faster and technically better than the others in every aspect of MMA. Jones and Ngannou, we're ranking them based on their résumé, not what I see from them today." An even simpler way to put it is that if these fights were to happen, I believe Aspinall would likely be the betting favorite over both. If any casino were to take action on these fights, it would list Aspinall as the favorite -- even though Jones and Ngannou are more household names with the public. So, Aspinall is the undeniable choice in both recent resume at heavyweight and heavyweight skill set. And yet, of course, votes came in for Jones or Ngannou. And that's understandable, but only because those voters misunderstood the question. Again, the question is asking about the heavyweight division right now. Jones and Ngannou have accomplished so much throughout their careers -- two of the most impressive careers in MMA history -- it's potentially hard to separate that when casting a vote. It's why someone like Dominick Cruz would still rank Jones and Ngannou ahead of Aspinall in a pound-for-pound list, because pound-for-pound can consider different opposing styles, longevity, and adaptability between weight classes. But even in ranking Aspinall last in hypothetical pound-for-pound between the three, it's obvious to Cruz to put Aspinall and his resume at the top of heavyweight. "I have not seen Jones tested properly [at this weight class], but I have seen Aspinall and Ngannou tested at that particular weight class," Cruz said. "Jones is ranked third at heavyweight, but alternatively, if this were pound-for-pound, I'd vote Jones [No. 1]."
The case for Francis Ngannou: Second place (tie), 18 points (2 first-place votes)Hale: The only logical answer is Francis Ngannou. "[Ngannou] left as the UFC champion, took on the challenge of boxing and came back showing tremendous skill and growth," former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans said. "Ngannou has the history behind him." History is something that neither Jones nor Aspinall has over Ngannou. "The Predator" has wins over former UFC heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic. Of their combined heavyweight wins, Jones and Aspinall have defeated a grand total of one former champion: Arlovski, who was 42 years old when Aspinall needed two rounds to beat him. Before vacating his UFC heavyweight title, Ngannou was riding a six-fight winning streak that saw him lay waste to Miocic, dos Santos, Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane. Only Gane lasted longer than six minutes, and that was due to Ngannou competing with a severely damaged knee that needed surgery. While we are in awe of Aspinall's torrid run of finishing opponents, Ngannou did it first and against better competition. Let's also not forget that Ngannou never lost the UFC heavyweight championship in the Octagon and should be considered the lineal heavyweight champion today. To put a stamp on this conversation, Ngannou returned to MMA after a two-year detour in boxing in October -- where he inexplicably nearly defeated then-undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury -- and wiped out the gigantic Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut to become the Super Fights champ. Until he loses, Ngannou is still the best heavyweight in the world. While there may be a compelling argument for Jones due to his stellar career, he lacks the credentials in the land of the giants to overtake Ngannou. "Jones may be the best P4P fighter to ever live but I can't put him higher than No. 3 with only one fight in four years in the heavyweight division," said Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick, who also serves as Ngannou's lead trainer. While Nicksick can be accused of bias, he's not wrong. Since 2020, Ngannou has more heavyweight wins at four than Jones with one. Even if Jones beats a 42-year-old Miocic at UFC 309, that will be a far lesser version than Ngannou beat to become UFC champion in 2021. What are we really debating here? No matter how many ways you slice it, Ngannou is, by far, the baddest man on the planet until somebody takes the title from him.
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