Tom Aspinall – Page 25 – Syndication Server

Tom Aspinall confident he ‘can beat anyone in the world’ ahead of UFC London headliner

Tom Aspinall thinks he’s firing on all cylinders ahead of his first main event on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 204.

LONDON – [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] thinks he’s firing on all cylinders ahead of his first main event on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 204.

Aspinall (11-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is radiating with confidence going into his clash with fellow heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov (34-9 MMA, 8-3 UFC), which takes place at The 02 and streams on ESPN+. Thus far the Brit has been flawless inside the octagon, and after putting in some hard preparation, he said his best version will show up on fight night.

“I think I’ve improved more this camp than I have in the last two years,” Aspinall told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 204 media day. “I feel so good. I feel in such a good place mentally. This is my focus. I’m enjoying it. I’m not even thinking about the result, to be honest. I’m not thinking about how I’m going to finish the fight. I could give a sh*t, to be honest. I’m just going to have the time of my life and just enjoy it.

Aspinall, 28, admits it took some time to mature into his current mental space. He was very vocal around his first pair of UFC fights that he wanted to take the slow and steady approach to climbing the ranks.

There’s no turning back at this point, though. Volkov is a former Bellator champion who has fought many of the best in the UFC heavyweight division, and this fight is going to show exactly where Aspinall stands.

“I got to the UFC and I used to think, ‘Oh these guys are so (good).’ They’re not, mate,” Aspinall said. “They’re another guy in front of you having another fight with a pair of gloves on, and I’m going to treat it that way. Don’t get me wrong: I took Volkov more serious than I took anyone else. But at the end of the day he’s another guy across from me with a pair of gloves on. Same as anybody else.”

“If I go in there and do me and I have fun, I can beat anyone in the world. If I go in there and overthink it and try to work to a strategy and do everything perfect, I can lose. So I’m just going to go in there and have the time of my life.”

Aspinall said he doesn’t know exactly where this win will put him in the division. He didn’t dismiss the idea of a matchup with former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane, but whatever it may be, Aspinall said he’ll be ready.

“These heavyweights think they know about me, but they don’t know sh*t,” Aspinall said. “Obviously I feel I’m ready for (anyone), so here we are. Moving forward and moving up in the world hopefully.”

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UFC Fight Night 204 official poster: Tom Aspinall collides with Alexander Volkov on home soil in London

Check out the official poster for UFC Fight Night 204, featuring the heavyweight showdown between Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall in London.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] will get a big opportunity to catapult himself to the upper echelon of the division.

Aspinall (11-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] (34-9 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 204, which takes place March 19 at O2 Arena in London.

Unbeaten in the UFC, the Team Kaobon fighter has impressed in his four octagon showings. Aspinall has finishes in all of his professional wins and is coming off back-to-back stoppages over former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and Serghei Spivac.

Volkov will look to put a halt to Aspinall’s momentum in enemy territory. Winner of three of his past four, Volkov rebounded from his loss to Ciryl Gane by defeating Marcin Tybura at UFC 267.

Also featured on the poster is [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (21-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC), who will return to featherweight when he faces streaking Brit [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the co-main event.

Check out the official poster for UFC Fight Night 204 below (via Twitter):

20 days to go!! 🇬🇧

Your official #UFCLondon poster has just dropped! pic.twitter.com/2FdtZ86Lum

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 27, 2022

The current UFC Fight Night 204 lineup includes:

Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall
Arnold Allen vs. Dan Hooker
Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas
Luana Carolina vs. Molly McCann
Cody Durden vs. Muhammad Mokaev
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Sergei Pavlovich
Gunnar Nelson vs. Claudio Silva
Cory McKenna vs. Elise Reed
Paul Craig vs. Nikita Krylov
Liudvik Sholinian vs. Nathaniel Wood
Jai Herbert vs. Ilia Topuria

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall headlines UFC’s March return to London

The UFC’s return to London in March has a heavyweight headliner.

Former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] (34-9 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will take on [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the main event of the UFC’s “Fight Night” show on March 19. UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking to the promotion’s broadcast partner, ESPN.

While the March 19 card is not official, it is expected to take place at O2 Arena in London with a broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.

Volkov got back in the win column this past October with a decision over Marcin Tybura at UFC 267. In June 2021, he dropped a decision to Ciryl Gane, who went on to win the interim heavyweight title. The loss to Gane snapped a two-fight winning streak of knockouts against Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem, the latter of which won a post-fight bonus award.

Aspinall, from Manchester, will fight in front of his home-country fans for the first time as a member of the UFC’s roster. He fought exclusively in England for his first nine fights before he signed with the UFC for a July 2020 Performance of the Night debut with a first-round knockout of Jake Collier.

Aspinall followed that up with a first-round TKO of Alan Baudot, a bonus-winning submission of former champion Andrei Arlovski in February 2021, and a bonus-winning first-round knockout of Serghei Spivac this past September.

With the addition, the UFC’s London card now includes:

Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall
Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento
Luana Carolina vs. Molly McCann
Cody Durden vs. Muhammad Mokaev
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Sergei Pavlovich

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Nov. 1-7)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Nov. 1-7.

VIDEO: Tom Aspinall breaks down in tears after $50,000 bonus at UFC Fight Night 191

Tom Aspinall got very emotional when he found out that he was going to be $50,000 richer.

You don’t often see too many emotions from the mild-mannered [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], but he couldn’t help but react when he found out he was going to be $50,000 richer.

Aspinall scored his seventh straight victory when he stopped Serghei Spivac in the first round in the UFC Fight Night 191 co-main event Saturday and was delivered some great news during his post-fight photo session.

When the heavyweight prospect was told he earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus, his jump for joy quickly turned into tears.

That performance earned him a POTN bonus 💸

Congrats Tom Aspinall 👏 #UFCVegas36 pic.twitter.com/055rpYfnRw

— UFC (@ufc) September 4, 2021

The Team Kaobon fighter has finished all 11 of his pro wins and has earned three bonuses in his four UFC wins. Following his finish of Spivac, Aspinall called out Blagoy Ivanov, who’s ranked one spot ahead of him in the UFC’s heavyweight rankings.

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After strategic win over Spivac, Tom Aspinall wants a shot at Blagoy Ivanov

Take a look inside Tom Aspinall’s TKO win over Serghei Spivac in the UFC Fight Night 191 co-main event in Las Vegas.

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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] beat Serghei Spivac with a first-round TKO Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 191 co-main event in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Aspinall, who picked up his seventh straight win.

UFC Fight Night 191 bonuses: Tom Aspinall’s first-round finish, Paddy Pimblett’s debut TKO among extra $50k earners

Paddy Pimblett’s spectacular debut finish was among four bonus-earning performances on Saturday.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including two individual performances and an incredible back-and-forth scrap in the women’s flyweight division.

UFC Fight Night 191 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the $50,000 winners below.

Video: UFC Fight Night 191 participants try ‘Don’t Laugh Challenge,’ and fail miserably

Darren Till, Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, and others try to hold back their laughter in this challenge but fail spectacularly.

While this challenge didn’t involve milk crates, because fighting is dangerous enough as is, the competitors of UFC Fight Night 191 had their sense of humor tested.

[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag], [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag], [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag], [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], and [autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag] took on the UFC’s “Don’t Laugh Challenge,” where their reactions and thoughts were captured as they were shown funny moments throughout UFC history.

From the infamous spilled bag of ice incident to [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] nearly completely disrobing before entering the cage for a fight, including a few funny moments from their own careers, and more, all of the fighters failed this challenge miserably.

At least failing this challenge didn’t mean injuring themselves trying to climb plastic milk crates. After all, these fighters risk their lives enough as is, and there’s nothing wrong with a few good laughs before stepping inside the cage.

Check out the challenge in the video above. Were there any moments that should have been included here?

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UFC Fight Night 191: Tom Aspinall vs. Serghei Spivac odds, expert picks and prediction

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 191 odds and lines between Tom Aspinall vs. Serghei Spivac, with MMA expert picks, tips and predictions.

In a heavyweight bout on the main card, Tom Aspinall faces Serghei Spivac Saturday at UFC Fight Night 191 – also known as UFC Vegas 36 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility. Below, we analyze the UFC Fight Night 191: Aspinall vs. Spivac odds and lines, with picks and predictions.

The entire card can be viewed on ESPN+ with the prelims beginning at 2 p.m. ET and the main card at 4 p.m. ET.

The Englishman Aspinall has been as advertised since making his UFC debut. He is 3-0 since arriving at the UFC level, with each of the victories via stoppage. He won via Round 2 submission against veteran Andrei Arlovski Feb. 20 his last time out, and his previous two wins were each by way of Round 1 KO/TKO.

Spivac, a.k.a. the “Polar Bear” from Moldova, looks to slow down Aspinall. He also enters on a three-bout win streak, including two decisions sandwiching a KO/TKO over Jared Vanderaa Feb. 20. Three of his last four fights have ended up going the distance.

UFC Fight Night 191 Aspinall vs. Spivac: Odds and lines

Odds via Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:18 a.m. ET.

Fight result (2-way line): Aspinall -240 (bet $240 to win $100) | Spivac +180 (bet $100 to win $180)
Over/Under: 1.5 rounds (Over -117 | Under -116)
Will the fight go the distance? OTB

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UFC Fight Night 191 Aspinall vs. Spivac: Odds, lines, predictions and picks

Records: Aspinall 10-2-0 | Spivac 13-2-0

Fight result (2-way line or money line)

ASPINALL (-240) is a little more expensive than I generally elect to play, but he is such a good bet to put Spivac away in this one. If you pair Aspinall with a couple of other betters in a multi-fight parlay it will lessen the risk significantly and give you a much better payday in the process.

Over/Under (O/U)

Aspinall has a penchant for getting things done very, very early. However, I think Spivac is going to make him work for this one, and this fight ends up going into the second round, and possibly beyond. As such, go with OVER 1.5 ROUNDS (-116) for the best bet of this fight.

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UFC Fight Night 191 predictions: Darren Till’s favored, but how many are picking him over Derek Brunson?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 191 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till.

	Brunson vs. Till	Aspinall vs. Spivac	Morono vs. Zawada	Bukauskas vs. Rountree	Pimblett vs. Vendramini
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 136-85	Till (57%)	Aspinall (84%)	Morono (80%)	Rountree (57%)	Pimblett (82%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 140-81	Brunson	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 137-84	Brunson	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 135-86 2018 Champion	Till	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 134-87 2020 Champion	Brunson	Aspinall	Zawada	Bukauskas	Vendramini
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 133-88	Brunson	Aspinall	Morono	Bukauskas	Pimblett
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 132-89	Till	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 131-90 2014 Champion	Till	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 126-95	Till	Aspinall	Morono	Bukauskas	Pimblett
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 125-96	Brunson	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 125-96	Brunson	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 124-97	Brunson	Aspinall	Zawada	Bukauskas	Vendramini
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 123-98 2017 Champion	Brunson	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 60-45	Brunson	Aspinall	Morono	Rountree	Pimblett

The UFC is back in Las Vegas this week with a middleweight clash at the top of the bill.

UFC Fight Night 191 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) takes on former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) in what could prove to be a key middleweight fight. Till is a fairly sizable favorite at -190 at Tipico, but our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with the underdog, Brunson, at a 9-4 clip.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a light heavyweight fight. Aspinall is the biggest favorite on the main card at -260, and he’s our only unanimous pick at 13-0.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 8-4 UFC) fights [autotag]David Zawada[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at welterweight. Morono is a slight favorite at -140, and he’s got a big 11-2 lead in the picks from our staff members.

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout. Bukauskas is the betting favorite at -160, but it’s underdog Rountree with a 9-4 lead from our pickers.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his promotional debut at lightweight against [autotag]Luigi Vendramini[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Pimblett is a -165 favorite, and only two of our pickers are taking Vendramini in an upset.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Till (57 percent), Aspinall (84 percent), Morono (80 percent), Rountree (57 percent) and Pimblett (82 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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