Tag: Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall goes off on ‘ludicrous’ pound-for-pound rankings: ‘It’s a stupid argument’

Tom Aspinall rubbishes the hotly debated pound-for-pound discussions.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] rubbishes the hotly debated pound-for-pound discussions.

The UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings currently have lightweight champion Islam Makhachev sitting at No. 1 and heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] ranked No. 2.

Considering that interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) could be on a collision course with Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC), one would imagine that he has a strong opinion on where Jones should rank – but guess again.

“I think that pound-for-pound fighters and pound-for-pound rankings is some of the stupidest, silliest, most ludicrous concepts that anyone could ever make up,” Aspinall told MMA Junkie. “It’s a hypothetical thing. What are you going to do? Make everyone in the world the same size and have them fight each other? It’s impossible. It’s a stupid argument.

“You get all these nerds online arguing about, ‘Oh, if this guy was the same size as this guy, who would win?’ Like, what’s the point? It’s like saying if a monkey and a giraffe were the same size, who would win in a fight? It’s just ridiculous. It’s just absolute ludicrous talk. So these pound-for-pound rankings and pound-for-pound – I can’t believe people actually care about that, to be honest. It’s silly.”

Aspinall isn’t hopeful that he’ll get to unify his belt with Jones. Instead, he runs things back with Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event July 27 in Manchester, England.

The Brit is already paving his way as a heavyweight great, but isn’t interested in being No. 1 pound-for-pound.

“I’m 260 pounds right now,” Aspinall said. “If you’re going to make me fight Demetrious Johnson, for example, who’s 125 pounds, who do you think’s going to win? You can’t prove who’s going to win pound-for-pound. So, what’s the point in considering it? It’s like saying, if Ronda Rousey was a male, would she beat Dustin Poirier in a fight? Like, it’s ludicrous talk. It’s stupid. What’s the point in talking about it? Waste of breath.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Tom Aspinall: ‘I am here to create my own legacy, and I don’t need Jon Jones to do that’

Tom Aspinall is chasing greatness with or without Jon Jones.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is chasing greatness with or without [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

After knocking out Sergei Pavlovich to claim the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295, Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was hoping to unify his belt with heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) next. However, with Jones continuously dismissing him, he may not ever get that opportunity.

Instead of a title-unification bout with Jones, Aspinall runs things back with Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event July 27 in Manchester, England. Blaydes won their first fight by TKO in July 2022 after Aspinall blew out his knee 15 seconds into the fight.

When asked if Jones will be the one big fight that got away if it never happens, Aspinall said he won’t let that narrative define his career.

“I mean, I’d like it obviously,” Aspinall told MMA Junkie. “I’ve been rallying for it for a long time now. I’ve not got the fight, and I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen but, I’m not really that bothered.

“I am here to create my own legacy, and I’m trying to be great myself, and I don’t need Jon Jones to do that. If I could get that, fantastic. I really think I can beat him but, I ain’t focused on that right now to be honest. I’m just thinking about Curtis Blaydes and that’s it.”

Jones revealed that his first title defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) will take place Nov. 9 in New York in what is expected to be the UFC’s annual pay-per-view card in Madison Square Garden.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Unfortunate circumstances: 15 unforeseen injuries that ended UFC main events

Injuries are part of the game in MMA, but there’s nothing worse than one ends a marquee UFC fight.

While the term “freak injury” might not be appropriate to use when discussing a sport that is inherently dangerous, 14 UFC main events have ended in unforeseen injuries – broken legs, separated shoulders, eye pokes, etc. – that don’t typically come in the sequence of MMA combat.

Scroll below to see a chronology of UFC main events that ended in that nature.

Note: Injuries sustained on a TKO due to strikes or tapout due to a submission are not included, nor are retirements on the stool due to extended fight damage or exhaustion. Laceration-based stoppages also are not included since they come as an intentional result of the opposition’s attack.

Tom Aspinall to seek advice from Leon Edwards, who hired a sleep specialist ahead of UFC 304

Tom Aspinall is still trying to figure out how he’ll fight overnight at UFC 304.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is still trying to figure out how he’ll fight overnight at UFC 304.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defends his interim title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the July 27 co-headliner (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Aspinall has expressed his concern about fighting in the middle of the night on numerous occasions, but plans on mimicking the methods of welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag], who runs things back with Belal Muhammad in the night’s headliner.

“Leon has employed a sleep specialist,” Aspinall told Title Sports Network. “I knew about this before because I know Leon’s manager, so I was kind of like, I’m not going to set anything in stone in my mind until I spoke to Leon on what he’s doing.

“Leon basically gave me a full breakdown of his sleep pattern. So I’m essentially going to copy Leon without paying a sleep specialist. That’s the plan. I don’t want to pay anybody, so I’m just getting the advice off Leon and I’m just following what Leon’s doing.”

Aspinall recalls attending the UFC 204 in 2016, and how he struggled with the overnight timings as a spectator.

“I actually think that it’s a lot harder for the fans than it is for the fighters,” Aspinall said. “(I went to) Bisping’s fight years ago when he fought Dan Henderson in Manchester. It’s much tougher for fans.

“Once our adrenaline is going, and we’ve got weeks to prepare for it – I’m going to adjust my body clock bit by bit. Big shout out Leon Edwards’ sleep coach. I’m going to do that so I’m going to be all right, but fans aren’t going to start preparing their body to stay up late. They just have to wing it, so it’s a lot worse.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Boxing champion Savannah Marshall scores first-round TKO in MMA debut at 2024 PFL Europe 2

Savannah Marshall overcame usual challenges a boxer faces in an MMA debut, scoring a first-round TKO at 2024 PFL Europe 2 in Newcastle.

Undisputed boxing champion [autotag]Savannah Marshall[/autotag] can now call herself an undefeated professional mixed martial artist.

In the main event of 2024 PFL Europe 2, Marshall made her MMA debut against Mirela Vargas at Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England, in a 160-pound catchweight bout. As expected, Marshall (1-0) displayed beautiful striking, leading to a first-round TKO at 4:27. Yet, it wasn’t without a few challenges.

Coming in as a high-level boxer attempting a new sport, Marshall would have to deal with kicks and takedowns, among other obvious challenges. Training with UFC interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], who was in her corner for the fight, helped prepare her for what was to come.

However, Like many boxers before her who tried their hands in the MMA cage, Marshall found herself on her back early in the fight.

“The Silent Assassin” remained calm when the fight hit the ground, and technically worked her way back up to her feet. That’s when she let her hands shine. Sharp punching combinations put Vargas (1-3) in trouble, but then Marshall experienced a few hard leg kicks that took her off her feet momentarily. Regardless, Marshall got back up, and continued with heavy forward pressure, refusing to let her opponent build momentum.

Eventually, after another takedown sequence, Vargas was rendered to nothing more than a defensive shell as Marshall unloaded furious punch combinations. The referee gave Vargas plenty of opportunity to respond before waving the fight off.

“I’ve only been doing this for nine months,” Marshall said during her post-fight interview. “I’ve absolutely loved it, but yeah, these MMA fighters – you’ve got to be a little bit crazy to do this.”

Marshall then shared a moment with Claressa Shields, who defeated her in the boxing ring in 2022. Shields is another boxing champion who has begun dabbling in MMA, and the pair expressed their desire to compete in the cage one day soon.

Marshall’s last appearance in the boxing ring came last July against Franchon Crews-Dezurn, who she defeated by a majority decision to win the undisputed super middleweight title.

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Two for the money on UFC 304 poster for Manchester

The UFC returns to England in July, and two titles will be on the line in rematches.

The UFC returns to England in July, and two titles will be on the line in rematches.

UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) is set for July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester. It will be the promotion’s first visit to England’s second largest city in nearly eight years. Earlier this week, the UFC released the event’s official poster, and it features all four headliners.

In the headliner, England’s own [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his welterweight title in a rematch against [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC). Muhammad will attempt to become the first Palestinian to win a UFC title.

Muhammad has been waiting more than three years for another shot at Edwards. They fought in March 2021, but the main event ended in a no contest when Muhammad was poked in the eye and was unable to continue. Edwards won the title two fights later against Kamaru Usman in a big upset, then beat him in a rematch to defend it and beat Colby Covington this past December, as well.

In the co-feature, England’s [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) will defend his interim heavyweight title for the first time in a rematch against [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). Champion Jon Jones has been out with an injury and is expected to fight former champ Stipe Miocic upon his return, not interim champ Aspinall.

In their first meeting, Blaydes won by TKO in just 15 seconds when Aspinall blew out his knee nearly two years ago. That led to a lengthy recovery and rehab, but he won the interim belt two fights into his return. Aspinall has had just one of his 14 wins go out of the first round.

Check out the UFC 304 poster below.

The latest UFC 304 lineup includes:

  • Champ Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad – for welterweight title
  • Interim champ Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes – for interim heavyweight title
  • Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood
  • Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons
  • Shauna Bannon vs. Ravena Oliveira
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann
  • Caolan Loughran vs. Ramon Taveras
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs. Mick Parkin
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachnio
  • Kiefer Crosbie vs. Sam Patterson

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Tom Aspinall admits struggle figuring out training for UFC 304’s middle-of-the-night start time

Tom Aspinall is unsure how to handle fighting Curtis Blaydes overnight at UFC 304.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is unsure how to handle fighting [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] overnight at UFC 304.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defends his interim title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the July 27 co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

The UFC 304 main card starts at 3 a.m. BST (10 p.m. ET) on ESPN+ pay-per-view, following the traditional start times for U.S. pay-per-views. That means Aspinall is expected to make the walk at around 4:30 a.m. local time.

Aspinall originally had an idea of doing his training camp in Las Vegas to adjust to the odd timings, but quickly realized that it wouldn’t be too wise.

“In all honesty, I have no idea right now,” Aspinall told Submission Radio. “I’m a bit lost at the thought of it. My original thought was I’m going to go to Vegas. I’m going to train in Vegas, and I’m going to get on Vegas time and I’m going to stick with that.

“Then I was, like, sh*t, Vegas is like 18 hours away. For me to be on Vegas time and then five, six days before the fight come back to Manchester and travel 18 hours, that’s exhausting just within itself whether you’re on a time difference or not. So I pushed that to the side.”

Aspinall thinks it’s best to seek help and advice from others. He finds it weird to have to completely adjust his sleep schedule while being in the U.K.

“In all honesty, I f*cking – I don’t know,” Aspinall said. “I don’t know what I’m doing at this point. I’m going to speak to a couple of people probably who are a lot smarter than I am and see if we can make some kind of compromise.

“I was thinking something like maybe I’ll try and sleep at like 9 p.m., wake up about 1 or 2 (a.m.), just be awake for a couple of hours, and then maybe work out at like 5, maybe go back to sleep for a couple of hours at like 7, 8. I don’t really know … I don’t really know.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Jailton Almeida advises Tom Aspinall to be ‘very patient’ vs. Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304

Jailton Almeida hopes Tom Aspinall can learn from his mistakes when he defends his interim title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] hopes [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] can learn from his mistakes when he defends his interim heavyweight title against [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] at UFC 304.

Almeida (19-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who meets Alexandr Romanov on Saturday at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+), is coming off a difficult loss to Blaydes in his most recent performance. He was winning the fight early after scoring nine takedowns in the opening round, but then Blaydes turned the tide and earned a knockout from ground strikes early in the second frame at UFC 299 in March.

The Brazilian admits he got overeager against Blaydes due to his early success, and that ultimately cost him as he was unable to show patience and maintain the same pace over the course of three rounds.

He said Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) needs to study that approach going into his rematch with Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) on June 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, and advises the interim champ not to overextend himself in the early moments of the bout.

“I think Aspinall is going to win,” Almeida told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “He’s a more complete fighter. He has a lot of respect for his career. I do believe that Curtis is a very strategic fighter and Aspinall will have to be very patient, just as I wasn’t. Aspinall will have to be very patient and understand to when he can throw himself at Curtis, because Curtis will be waiting for him. On the floor, probably.”

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Blaydes got a victory over Aspinall in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 208 in July 2022, but it was far from satisfying. Aspinall went down with an injury just 15 seconds into the headlining bout, and now the pair get the opportunity to have a sequel without controversy.

In the meantime, Almeida, No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings, will be looking to reestablish himself as a contender against Romanov and set himself up for a future encounter with No. 2-ranked Aspinall or rematch with No. 5-ranked Blaydes.

“I want to fight Aspinall in the future, and I also would like to come back and fight with Curtis once again,” Almeida said. “I’m looking for revenge, and I know the first step is to have a victory (at UFC 302).”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302 and UFC 304.

UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall on whether Ciryl Gane is ducking him: ‘I don’t know what his aspirations are’

No ill will, but UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall isn’t sure if Ciryl Gane wants to fight him.

No ill will, but UFC interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] isn’t sure if [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] wants to fight him.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) revealed that the original plan was to defend his interim title against Gane at UFC 304, but “Bon Gamin” allegedly turned it down due to current obligations filming a movie.

Aspinall was asked if he thinks Gane is ducking him.

“Maybe a bit, I don’t know,” Aspinall told The MacLife. “It’s difficult to say like, if he’s getting loads – I don’t know what his aspirations are. He might really want to be an actor. That might be his thing. So he’s thinking, ‘F*ck this MMA stuff. I’m going to go and be the French Arnold Schwarzenegger here. I’m going to crack on with that.’ Fair play to Ciryl, though. Good luck to him. I’ve got nothing against Ciryl.”

Instead, Aspinall will defend his interim title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the July 27 co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Gane tried to fight Aspinall on the upcoming Sept. 28 card in Paris, but Aspinall claims that UFC 304 isn’t the first time the Frenchman hasn’t accepted to fight him.

“He’s had a few opportunities to fight me, and he’s turned it down,” Aspinall said. “That’s the facts of it. I’m not saying he’s ducking me or he’s not ducking me. Right now he’s being an actor, and I wish him all the best in that. … I do wish him luck with it. No hard feelings against Ciryl. I’m not trying to throw him under the bus or nothing. I respect him. I respect what he’s doing. Has he ducked me? Probably. But all right, fair enough.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Tom Aspinall thinks Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury ‘fair and square,’ wants to see rematch

UFC champ Tom Aspinall didn’t let bias get in the way of his opinion on Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury outcome.

UFC interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] didn’t let bias get in the way of his opinion on [autotag]Oleksandr Usyk[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] outcome.

Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) became undisputed heavyweight champion when he edged out Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) by split decision this past Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Aspinall, who has trained with Fury before, thinks the right fighter got his hand raised on the night.

“Irrelevant of who you thought won, we won as viewers,” Aspinall told talkSPORT MMA. “I think it was an amazing fight from both guys. So much skill, so much heart and determination from both guys. If you would’ve asked me who I think won, it was well justified Usyk won, and that’s coming from someone who’s known Tyson for a long time.”

Fury disagreed with the outcome and plans on exercising the rematch clause in the contract. Aspinall thinks their back-and-forth battle warrants a second fight.

“I think Usyk won it fair and square, and I’d like to see a rematch,” Aspinall continued. “That’s heavyweight combat sports. To me, after the first four rounds, Usyk started to look a bit flat, but maybe that was just Usyk taking his foot off the gas. I don’t know. Tyson started coming on a bit and then before you know it, Usyk nearly stopped him in the ninth and then it was all downhill for Tyson.”

Aspinall defends his interim title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-headliner July 27 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

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