Tag: Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall puzzled by Ciryl Gane’s performance in loss to Jon Jones: ‘He just didn’t look right’

UFC heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall doesn’t think Ciryl Gane was 100 percent in his loss to Jon Jones back in March.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] doesn’t want to take credit away from [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag], but he isn’t sure Jones defeated the full version of [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] to become the new UFC heavyweight champion.

Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC), a top contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division, was puzzled to see Gane lose the way he did against Jones at UFC 285 back in March. Gane was quickly submitted by Jones in the first round of their championship fight for the vacant heavyweight title.

The Englishman feels Jones didn’t fight Gane at 100 percent.

“We saw from Jon Jones I think what everyone was expecting to see from Jon Jones, in my opinion,” Aspinall told Michael Bisping in a recent interview. “We knew that Jon Jones could do that. What we were unsure about, is how would Ciryl Gane react in that, under the pressure like he did – and it was very odd to see because I’ve followed Ciryl Gane’s career closely. I’ve known Ciryl Gane for quite a while. I fought like three of his teammates and stuff. To me, it looked – I don’t want to slag the guy off because I like Ciryl Gane, he’s a very nice guy, and he’s always been very nice to me.

“… To me, though, I don’t know, something looked off with him. I don’t know exactly what it was. He didn’t look –  I don’t know. Like, obviously his grappling isn’t up to the level of Jon Jones’, but on the contrary to that, in my opinion, he’s one of the most athletic heavyweights that’s ever fought in the UFC. You see the guy on Instagram, 250 pounds or whatever he is, doing muscle-ups. Like, the guy is ridiculously athletic, but he didn’t seem to use any of that, which seemed very odd.”

Aspinall isn’t sure if the result would’ve changed if Gane fought the way that he usually does, but he does think Gane could’ve had a much better showing.

“If you’re not up to someone’s skill level, use your athletic ability,” Aspinall said. “He got taken down and there was no scramble there, there wasn’t any resistance. Just spaz out if you can’t get him off. Blast him off, use whatever you can to try and get him off, and he didn’t really seem to do that.

“It seemed a bit weird to me. I don’t know if he was injured or something was going on, I don’t know. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, I don’t know exactly what was going on, but he just didn’t look right to me in that fight. He looked a bit off.”

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Aspinall hasn’t fought since suffering a 15-second TKO loss due to a freak knee injury against Curtis Blaydes back in July 2022. The loss snapped an eight-fight winning streak for the 30-year-old.

After undergoing surgery and rehab, Aspinall is now ready to return to the octagon. He expects to be added to the July 22 Fight Night card in London, but has yet to get an opponent.

Aspinall is determined to return with a statement and resume his campaign for the UFC heavyweight title. He really hopes that he gets to fight Jon Jones when he gets to the challenger role. However, Jones is just the cherry on top.

“Obviously, I’d love to fight him,” Aspinall said. “That would be my dream, to fight Jon Jones, but more so, my dream is to win the UFC heavyweight title. It doesn’t matter really who holds it at the time. It would be f*cking nice beating someone who’s considered the GOAT. That would be f*cking really nice, but at the end of the day, I want to be heavyweight champion. It doesn’t really matter who holds it at the time.”

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Tom Aspinall: People will laugh about it, ‘but I’m very serious about beating Jon Jones’

Tom Aspinall sees himself as a big threat to UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] sees himself as a big threat to UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) quickly climbed up the heavyweight ranks when he finished his first five UFC opponents, including Alexander Volkov. But then the rising Brit ran into Curtis Blaydes last July, who put an end to his run in unfortunate fashion.

Just 15 seconds into the fight, Aspinall blew out his knee and lost by TKO due to injury. Eight months later, and Aspinall is ready to return as he tries to narrow down on Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC).

“I’m very serious about – I’m aware that when I say this stuff, there’s gonna be people laughing at it, but I’m very serious about beating Jon Jones and the other guys on the way up,” Aspinall said in an interview on “The Craic with Peter Carroll.” “I’m deadly serious about it. That’s like my life mission now. I don’t think there’s nothing going to come in my way of that.”

He continued, “For him to be the best, the greatest of all time allegedly and be the UFC champion in my division, it’s just like extra motivation for me. Just an extra kick up the ass to go and work harder and beat these guys, so I’m working on it.”

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Aspinall expressed interest in fighting Marcin Tybura next, a matchup he thinks makes sense. Tybura has won back-to-back fights over Alexandr Romanov and Blagoy Ivanov, and seven of his past eight.

“Tybura, he’s good,” Aspinall said. “I think he’s really good. He’s not got the flashiest and most impressive style ever, but he makes people look bad, and he’s won seven of his last eight fights which is really difficult to do at heavyweight. So, I think he’s a good matchup for me definitely.”

He continued, “As far as skill level, I think I’m skill-levels above most of the division to be honest.”

Now recovered from knee injury, Tom Aspinall eyes summer return against ‘big Polish dummy’ Marcin Tybura

Tom Aspinall is targeting a return to the UFC this summer.

LONDON – [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] says he’s good to go.

The UFC heavyweight contender revealed he’s now recovered from his knee injury sustained in his last outing. Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) had to undergo surgery last year after tearing his MCL and meniscus, as well as suffering damage to his ACL, in a TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes last July at UFC Fight Night 208. It was a freak injury, as the British fighter blew out his knee 15 seconds into the bout.

Now healthy, Aspinall wants to return to the crime scene and resume his career.

“The knee is fantastic now,” Aspinall said at the Q&A hosted on Thursday, part of the UFC 286 fight week. “I’m back in training. Hey, listen. I just want to get one thing straight. We need to secure another U.K. card for this year, and I got that big Polish dummy calling me out online. So if Marcin Tybura wants it, let’s bring it back to the U.K. this summer. Come on, please.”

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Prior to the unfortunate injury, Aspinall was on a hot streak. He had eight consecutive wins, with five of those being under the UFC banner.

The 29-year-old was nearing a title shot entering his bout against Curtis Blaydes last summer, and he wants to get back on track. That’s why the bout against [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag] makes the most sense for him.

“Well at the moment, there are not many free guys in the top 10, everyone is matched,” Aspinall explained. “As far as I can see, he’s the only guy who’s willing to take the fight. He said it verbally. And if someone says publicly that they want to fight me, of course I want to fight. I’m not backing down from no one. We’re two European guys, let’s do it in the U.K.”

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Tom Aspinall: Reach helps Jon Jones land takedowns, but ‘he’s an average size heavyweight’

Tom Aspinall wonders if ex-205 champ Jon Jones’ physical attributes will give him the same heavyweight advantages at UFC 285 vs. Ciryl Gane.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] wonders if [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ physical attributes will give him the same advantages at heavyweight.

Former light heavyweight champion Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) dominated his division and entered most of his fights with a whopping reach advantage – which Aspinall says helped him not only with striking, but his wrestling.

But now that Jones is making his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4, Aspinall isn’t sure if he’ll be able to implement his wrestling as effectively – even though he’ll have a 3.5-inch reach advantage over the Frenchman.

“Jon Jones is an amazing wrestler,” Aspinall said in an interview with Jamal Niaz. “The massive advantage he has amongst the light heavyweights is he’s got a massive reach advantage. So he gets a lot of his takedowns with the length of his arms and the leverage that he gets behind his takedowns. I’m not discrediting his wrestling – his wrestling is amazing. But I’m saying the leverage he gets with his size advantage is incredible at light heavyweight, whereas at heavyweight, he’s an average size heavyweight.

“He’s 6-(foot)-4, I think, so he’s pretty much average size, average height heavyweight, at least. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get the same leverage against someone his height. It’s yet to be seen. But Gane is a niche heavyweight. He’s not a standard heavyweight. Like, his footwork is really good. His judge of distance is really good.”

Gane has given fits to all his opposition on the feet, possessing speed, technique and footwork unlike any heavyweight. Although Jones is coming off a layoff of more than three years, Aspinall says it’s the move up a division that could play a factor.

“I don’t think the inactivity would affect someone like Jon Jones because he’s had like 50 million title fights,” Aspinall said. “He’s had so much experience, a few years off won’t affect him. I think more (that will) affect him is carrying his own weight and carrying someone else’s weight who’s really mobile like Ciryl Gane. If Ciryl Gane was more of a plodding heavyweight, more of a flat-footed guy, he would have a lot of an easier time than he would someone like Ciryl.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

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Tom Aspinall says return at UFC 286 in London ‘highly unlikely’ but not completely out of question

Tom Aspinall really wants to fight at UFC 286 in London and is weighing the risk of coming back too soon from injury.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] would love to return at UFC 286, but he doubts it’s the wise thing to do.

Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) underwent knee surgery after tearing his MCL and meniscus, as well as suffering damage to his ACL, in a TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes last July at UFC Fight Night 208.

Aspinall has headlined back-to-back events in the U.K. With UFC 286 on March 18 in London approaching, the 29-year-old Brit thinks he could be ready to return on that date, but is it worth the risk?

“My ego wants to go, ‘Stick me on the card, I’m good to go,’ but I need to think long term, which I’ve not been doing and need to get everything right,” Aspinall said in an interview with OLBG.

He continued, “I’m not ruling it out (fighting at UFC London). At the minute, it’s still like 14-15 weeks away. And at this point, I’ve not done much heavy training. It’s just been rehab really. But can I get ready in 14 weeks? The answer is yes. Will I be ready to start a title run in 14 weeks? I don’t know. And if I don’t know, that’s not the answer I’m looking for. It’s highly unlikely but not a complete no at this point.”

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Aspinall’s injury happened just 15 seconds into his fight against Blaydes after he threw a right kick to his opponent’s thigh, which forced him to step back and hit the canvas. But the top contender said it’s a lingering knee injury that he’s been dealing with and wants to make sure it properly heals before he competes again.

“I can’t afford for that (the injury) to happen again,” Aspinall said. “I’m not talking about finances, I’m talking about my ego. My ego can’t take that again. Me on my back, clutching onto my knee – it’s just not going to happen again. There’s just no chance I can let that happen again. The knee has to be 1 million percent. …

“I’m not kicking just yet, but I’ve been doing a bit of sparring and stuff. I can full-on wrestle now, which is great. I literally started that this week. I’m looking to get signed off by the physio in eight to 12 weeks, he reckons, completely signed off and back to full-on training. I’m really happy with it all.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.

Tom Aspinall: ‘Younger and fresher’ Jake Paul should be able to outwork Anderson Silva

Tom Aspinall predicts Jake Paul will upset Anderson Silva in their upcoming boxing headliner.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] predicts [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] will upset [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag].

Paul (5-0) meets former UFC middleweight champion Silva (3-1) in the headliner of a Showtime pay-per-view event Oct. 29 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

Amongst the MMA crowd, it’s a rather unpopular opinion. But the British heavyweight contender likes what he’s seen so far out of Paul, who’s coming off a knockout over ex-UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley.

“I think he’s got Anderson Silva at a good time,” Aspinall said in an interview with Midnite. “Silva has obviously got a lot of miles on the clock. But he also has a lot of skills, so it’s an interesting fight. Silva has got to be pushing 50 now, but the skills are still there, the body is still there. I think Jake Paul takes it. I think Paul should be able to outwork him, being the younger and fresher man, but you never know. Silva (is) getting a bit older and Paul’s young and hungry – and Jake Paul’s looked good. I don’t care what anybody says – it looks like he has got skills. So I think he wins that one.”

With Paul teasing a move to MMA, Aspinall thinks he could actually do quite well.

“I will say something that not a lot of fighters will say: I actually really like Jake Paul,” Aspinall said. “I like what he’s doing. He’s got a lot of eyes on the sport that would not be watching the sport before. I’m talking all the way across combat sports. I think he brings a lot of eyes to combat sports and he’s looked great boxing so far. He’s obviously a very athletic guy and picked it up really quick and he’d look great doing MMA, as well, I think.

“In my opinion, if he was given the right fights and brought on properly, had the right training – his mentality is great. So he could go far with it, definitely.”

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Tom Aspinall says he used Cristiano Ronaldo’s rehab guy to recover from knee surgery

UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall sought help from a rehab doctor known for his work with soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] sought help from one of the best rehab doctors in the country.

Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who blew out his knee in a TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes in July, says he’s been working with the same doctor who used to work with international soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

The heavyweight contender has no exact timetable for his return, but won’t rush his comeback.

“I got my surgery off the best surgeon in the U.K. – the top rehab guy in the U.K.,” Aspinall said in an interview with Midnite. “He used to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s rehab guy. He’s seriously up there in the rehab world, and it feels great right now. I’ve been suffering with this knee injury for a long time. It feels way better than it has for a long time.

“Before, I had a knee injury – and no one knew I had a knee injury. Now I have the knee injury and everyone knows about it, so me as a high-level UFC fighter – I know how other high-level UFC fighters think. If I was fighting an opponent with a knee injury, 100 percent I’d be attacking that knee. No question about it, and I know people will be doing the same to me. So I’ll only return when I’m 100 percent confident in taking kicks to the knee off other guys my size or heavier. There’s no way I’ll come back any earlier. I need to make sure I’m 100 percent before I am booking a fight.”

Aspinall’s injury appeared to happen after he threw a right kick to Blaydes’ thigh, which forced him to step back and hit the canvas. But the 29-year-old British fighter said his knee has been bothering him for years.

“I’ve had the bad knee for at least three years, maybe longer,” Aspinall said. “There’s been a lot of stuff I’ve not been able to do. I’ve been getting through the fights obviously well. I’ve been getting through the training camps pretty well for the most part. But maybe I got a bit too overconfident. Maybe I gambled one time too many when I knew I had a knee injury. I can’t be doing these high-level training camps with a knee injury. I’ve got to take care of my physical health as well as my mental health – don’t just keep getting pressured into doing these fights when I know that I’m injured. So lesson learned from now on. That’s why I’m not going back until I’m 100 percent.”

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Tom Aspinall reveals torn MCL and meniscus in UFC London loss to Curtis Blaydes, set for surgery

A little more than a week after injuring his knee at UFC Fight Night 208, Tom Aspinall has the diagnosis and will undergo surgery Wednesday.

A little more than a week after injuring his knee at UFC Fight Night 208, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] has the diagnosis.

Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who blew out his right knee just 15 seconds into his headliner against Curtis Blaydes in London, said he tore his MCL and meniscus, as well as suffered damage to his ACL.

The rising heavyweight Brit posted on social media to reveal the news and said he will undergo surgery Wednesday.

“Today is surgery day. I’m in London right now and I’m absolutely starving because I can’t eat before surgery,” Aspinall said. “I have suffered a torn MCL, a torn meniscus and some ACL damage, so going to get that fixed today.”

https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cgyu4svON_v/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Aspinall saw his unbeaten UFC run come to an end in unfortunate fashion against Blaydes in his second straight headliner. Prior to that, the 29-year-old Team Kaobon fighter scored a first-round submission of Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night 204 in London in March.

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Tom Aspinall reveals he’ll undergo knee surgery after sustaining injury at UFC Fight Night 208

Tom Aspinall “has been out in the dumps” since his freak injury occurred at UFC London.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] will go under the knife next week.

The UFC heavyweight contender revealed that he’ll need surgery on his knee following a freak incident this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 208. Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) suffered an injury to his right knee in London after he landed multiple leg kicks on opponent Curtis Blaydes.

After the last kick, Aspinall fell to the canvas in pain, forcing an immediate stoppage to the fight after just 15 seconds.

“Hello, everybody. Just a quick update on the knee situation, because everyone is asking about the diagnosis and what happened to the knee,” Aspinall said on Instagram. “Anybody that has knee problems knows that in order to have an MRI scan, an accurate MRI scan, I need to let the swelling go down.

“So I spoke to the surgeon, and we have a rough idea of what it is, but we’re currently waiting for the swelling to go down, and I will be having the MRI scan this weekend and having surgery early next week in London. So, just want to say thank you to everyone who’s reached out. I’ve been offline. I’ve been out in the dumps since Saturday night, but hopefully I can get that fixed and get surgery early next week.”

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The bout at UFC Fight Night 208 was officially ruled a TKO win for Blaydes. The defeat marked Aspinall’s first loss in the promotion and also snapped his eight-fight winning streak.

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Tom Aspinall reacciona por su derrota por lesión en la UFC Fight Night 208: ‘Hay accidentes raros ’

Tom Aspinall está tomando el resultado devastador en el evento principal de la UFC Fight Night 208 con calma. La pelea estelar de peso pesado en el O2 en Londres se fue detenida de forma abrupta a los 15 segundos cuando Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) …

Tom Aspinall está tomando el resultado devastador en el evento principal de la UFC Fight Night 208 con calma.

La pelea estelar de peso pesado en el O2 en Londres se fue detenida de forma abrupta a los 15 segundos cuando Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) sufrió una lesión en la rodilla que lo tiró en agonía en la lona. Su oponente Chris Blaydes (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) fue otorgado el triunfo por TKO, y se veía como una situación horrible para el británico.

Aspinall no ha revelado la magnitud de sus lesiones pero lo consideró un “accidente raro”. Se ve de buen ánimo e incluso compartió una cerveza con Blaydes en el hotel de los luchadore después del evento (vía Instagram:

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Una cerveza lo hace todo mejor. Que tipo, el enorme Curtis y su equipo vinieron a saludar. Desafortunadamente hay accidentes raros, hoy no fue mi noche. Los quiero a todos xx

Aspinall posteó en su Twitter el domingo para agradecer a la UFC, Blaydes, sus fans, familia y demás después de la lesión y dijo que por ahora se enfocará a sanar y regresar más fuerte.

Traducción.- Gracias Twitter @ufc

Sigue siendo un misterio lo que le depara el futuro a Aspinall después de su primera derrota tras unirse a la promoción hace seis peleas.

 

Traducido por META