Tom Aspinall

Last updated

Tom Aspinall
BornThomas Paul Aspinall
(1993-04-11) 11 April 1993 (age 31)
Salford, England
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight262 lb (119 kg; 18 st 10 lb)
Division Heavyweight
Reach78 in (198 cm) [1]
Fighting out of Salford, England
Team Team Kaobon [2]
Aspinall BJJ (2005–present) [3] [4]
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [5] [4]
Years active2014–present
Professional boxing record
Total1
Wins1
By knockout1
Mixed martial arts record
Total17
Wins14
By knockout11
By submission3
Losses3
By knockout1
By submission1
By disqualification1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Thomas Paul Aspinall [6] (born 11 April 1993) [7] is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. As of 16 April 2024, he is #13 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. [8]

Contents


Background

Aspinall followed his father's footsteps by beginning to train martial arts at the age of seven at the Leigh Self Defence Studio in Leigh, Greater Manchester, where he trained in JuJitsu. [4] After being trained in wrestling and boxing, Aspinall transitioned to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. [2] He has won the British Open in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in all belt classes except black belt. [4] [9] After his father became the jiu-jitsu instructor of Team Kaobon, Aspinall grew interested in mixed martial arts and transitioned into the sport. [2] In the year after completing school at age 16, Aspinall grew from 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) to 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m), causing intense growing pains. [10]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Aspinall signed a five-fight contract with Cage Warriors after a 2.5-year hiatus from professional mixed martial arts. [11] [4] Aspinall was offered a contract by the Ultimate Fighting Championship also, but did not feel ready for the organisation and subsequently turned it down. [11] After two fast finishes in Cage Warriors he eventually signed to the UFC. [11] [4]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Aspinall was originally scheduled to make his promotional debut against Raphael Pessoa at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards on 21 March 2020. [12] However, Pessoa withdrew from the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Jake Collier, [13] but this event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [14] Subsequently, the pairing was left intact and took place on 25 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14. [15] He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. [16] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. [17]

Aspinall's second UFC appearance was expected to be against Serghei Spivac at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen on 11 October 2020. [18] However, Spivak withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Alan Baudot. [19] Aspinall won the fight via first-round technical knockout. [20]

Aspinall next faced Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on 20 February 2021. [21] He won the fight via a submission in round two. [22] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. [23]

Aspinall was expected to face Sergei Pavlovich on 4 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191. [24] However, Pavlovich was removed from the card in late-August due to alleged visa issues which restricted his ability to travel and was replaced by Serghei Spivac. [25] Aspinall won the fight via technical knockout in round one. [26] The win earned Aspinall his third Performance of the Night bonus award. [27]

Aspinall was scheduled to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on 19 March 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204. [28] However, on 21 January 2022, it was announced that Aspinall would instead face Alexander Volkov. [29] Aspinall won the fight via straight armbar submission in round one. [30] With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award. [31]

Aspinall faced Curtis Blaydes on 23 July 2022, at UFC Fight Night 208. [32] He lost the fight by technical knockout 15 seconds into the first round after being rendered unable to continue due to a knee injury. [33]

After a year off due to his injury, Aspinall returned to face Marcin Tybura on 22 July 2023, at UFC Fight Night 224. [34] He won the fight via TKO just over a minute into the first round. [35] With this win, he received his fifth Performance of the Night bonus award. [36]

On two weeks' notice, Aspinall faced Sergei Pavlovich for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship on 11 November 2023, at UFC 295 due to Jon Jones becoming injured and his fight against Stipe Miocic being cancelled. [37] He won by first-round knockout in a little over a minute and the victory earned him the Performance of the Night award. [38] [39]

Personal life

Aspinall is of Polish descent. [40] He is married with two sons and one daughter with one of his sons being diagnosed with autism. [41] [42]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
17 matches14 wins3 losses
By knockout111
By submission31
By disqualification01
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Win14–3 Sergei Pavlovich KO (punches) UFC 295 11 November 202311:09 New York City, New York, United StatesWon the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win13–3 Marcin Tybura TKO (elbow and punches) UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura 22 July 202311:13 London, EnglandPerformance of the Night.
Loss12–3 Curtis Blaydes TKO (knee injury) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall 23 July 202210:15 London, England
Win12–2 Alexander Volkov Submission (straight armbar) UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall 19 March 202213:45 London, EnglandPerformance of the Night.
Win11–2 Serghei Spivac TKO (elbow and punches) UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till 4 September 202112:30 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesPerformance of the Night.
Win10–2 Andrei Arlovski Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis 20 February 202121:09 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesPerformance of the Night.
Win9–2 Alan Baudot TKO (elbows and punches) UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen 10 October 202011:35 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win8–2 Jake Collier TKO (knee and punches) UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till 26 July 202010:45 Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesPerformance of the Night.
Win7–2Mickael Ben HamoudaTKO (punches)Cage Warriors 10728 September 201910:56 Liverpool, England
Win6–2Sofiane BoukichouTKO (leg injury)Cage Warriors 10116 February 201911:21 Liverpool, England
Win5–2Kamil BazelakKO (punch)Full Contact Contender 1618 June 201611:16 Bolton, England
Loss4–2Łukasz ParobiecDQ (illegal downward elbow) BAMMA 25 14 May 201623:33 Birmingham, England
Win4–1Adrian RuskacTKO (punches)Full Contact Contender 155 March 201611:05 Bolton, England
Loss3–1Stuart AustinSubmission (heel hook) BAMMA 21 13 June 201523:59 Birmingham, England
Win3–0Satisch JhamaiTKO (punches) BAMMA 19 28 March 201510:09 Blackpool, England
Win2–0Ricky KingSubmission (heel hook) BAMMA 18 21 February 201510:49 Wolverhampton, England
Win1–0Michał PiszczekTKO (submission to punches)MMA Versus UK 1: Empire Rises13 December 201410:15 Manchester, EnglandHeavyweight debut.

[46]

Professional boxing record

1 fight1 win0 losses
By knockout10
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
1Win1–0 Flag of Hungary.svg Tamas BajzathKO1 (4), 1:2424 June 2017 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, England

See also

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Achievements
Preceded by 7th UFC Heavyweight Interim Champion
11 November 2023 – present
Incumbent