Tom Aspinall has explained why he’s happy with a slow and steady climb up the heavyweight ladder and won’t be calling out the division’s elite just yet.
Aspinall was last in action at UFC Vegas 36 on September 4. In the co-main event of a European-heavy card, the Englishman decimated Sergey Spivak inside one round. A vicious elbow in the clinch stunned the Moldovan and sent him to the canvas. The onslaught of punches that followed ensured Aspinall’s unbeaten UFC record moved to 4-0.
Since his debut last July, the Manchester native has impressed. TKO victories over Jake Collier and Alan Baudot put him on the radar, but it was his win against former champion Andrei Arlovski that really established his name in the UFC. At UFC Vegas 19, Aspinall became only the second man to submit Arlovski in his 51-fight MMA career.
Having climbed to within one place of the heavyweight top-10, many have suggested Aspinall is at the point where he can start calling out the top names in the division. But the man himself has a different vision for his climb to the top.
During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Aspinall revealed his intention to gain more experience before challenging the elite contenders in the weight class.
“It’s kind of the gift and the curse of the heavyweight division. The reason why I always talk about taking it slow and stuff like that is a lot of people get it confused and think I’m not very confident. I think it’s completely the opposite. The fact is, I’m very confident in myself and my own ability. I’m just aware enough to know I need more experience to compete with these guys who have had multiple five-round fights.” (MMA Fighting)
Despite already making four walks to the Octagon in just over a year in the promotion, Aspinall has only seen the second round on one occasion. The 28-year-old acknowledged that while he may have the edge over many top-10’s when it comes to power and speed, the experience will be just as valuable.
“None of my fights have gone past like a round and a half yet. This experience, you cannot buy this stuff. This is very valuable and I’m completely aware that I need that stuff to compete with these guys. That’s what they’ve got over me. I feel like I’ve got a lot of other stuff over them—speed, power, skill, all this kind of stuff. I feel I’ve got that over most of the guys but one thing I’ve not got, which is also very important, is the experience. I want to build that up.”
Aspinall went on to discuss his ambitions in the sport and his desire to provide for his family through his UFC success. At the age of just 28, the Englishman knows there’s no need to blow his opportunity by rushing into the deep end too quickly.
“What’s the damn rush? What’s the rush in this thing?” Aspinall said. “I’m 28. Heavyweights go to the early 40s. I’m want to stick around. I’m not trying to be a flash in the pan. I’m not trying to be a hype job as we say in the U.K. I want to earn my way up. I want to take out these guys out and get the experience on the way and do my thing and enjoy myself and make money and improve as I’m going.
“I’m not just trying to get there cause everyone thinks I’m good and then turns out I’m not good and I have to go back to working a regular job. I don’t want to do that shit. I want to earn my way up and enjoy this stuff and provide for my family on the way and when I get there, I want to stay there as well.”
Having secured his second consecutive Performance of the Night bonus with his victory over Spivak, Tom Aspinall will be looking to secure a lucrative hat-trick when he next enters the Octagon.
The 28-year-old already has a name in mind for his next fight. In his post-fight interview, Aspinall called out Blagoy Ivanov, who is currently ranked two places below him at #13. In his quest to fight everybody on his way to the top, the surging heavyweight is targeting the Bulgarian behemoth next.
Do you think Tom Aspinall is taking the correct approach to his UFC career?
