Athletes
Tom Aspinall: One Of Manchester’s Own
Manchester Native Tom Aspinall Cannot Wait To Defend His Interim Heavyweight Title In His Own Backyard At UFC 304: Edwards vs Muhammad 2
Tom Aspinall was always going to fight in UFC’s return to Manchester. It doesn’t matter that doing so meant putting his interim heavyweight belt on the line while the division waits for Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic to fight, thus risking a fight with either legend. Or the fact that it comes against Curtis Blaydes, whom Aspinall routinely describes as his “worst matchup.” All that matters is the Octagon is landing more than 200 miles north of London and about a 20-minute drive from Aspinall’s front door.
“Anybody who thinks that I'm going to go to a UFC event in Manchester and just watch is absolutely insane,” Aspinall said during his interview with UFC.com. “It's never going to happen. It's never, ever going to happen. If the UFC come back in 20 years and I'm like 50 odd years old, I'll probably still try and have a go.”
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The desperation of commitment is understandable from the 31-year-old Atherton resident. He was 23 years old when Michael Bisping defended his middleweight title against Dan Henderson at UFC 204, then just boasting a 5-2 professional MMA record. Aspinall tacked nine more wins and the interim heavyweight title onto his resume since then, and despite winning a piece of UFC gold, Aspinall doesn’t feel like things have changed all that much for him in his day-to-day life.
Aspinall said his sheer stature, the healthy 6-foot-5 figure he is, makes him stand out regardless. When UFC.com visited Aspinall in Atherton in September 2021, as much was clear. People would wander up to Aspinall to say hello and maybe take a picture, or a car would honk their horn as they drove by their town’s own UFC contender. He generally keeps a low-profile, saying he often just goes to the gym and returns home to spend time with his kids.
But fighting at home is different than fighting anywhere else. Aspinall described fighting in London’s O2 Arena as just a “salad starter” compared with the “steak” that is fighting in Co-op Live with a UFC belt to defend. He does admit the fight’s location does add “more pressure,” but he believes his three bouts in London – all headliners – gave him the right taste for the atmosphere he expects on July 27.
“It's just why I got into the sport: for reasons like this,” he said. “That's what it's all about for me. I wanted to fight in Manchester, of course. Obviously, being a champion and defending it in Manchester is massive. That's an experience that no one will ever take away from me. I'm really looking forward to it.”
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There is also the unfinished business at hand with Blaydes. When the two first squared off in July 2022, tension and stakes were high. Both men were circling a shot at UFC gold, and after Aspinall capped UFC’s return to London months earlier to the tune of a first-round submission against Alexander Volkov, the rowdy English crowd wanted a sequel just as sweet. However, as is well-documented, the bout was over just 15 seconds into the first frame when Aspinall suffered a knee injury. It is the lone blemish on his UFC record, if you can call it one.
That’s why it only made sense that Aspinall would fight Blaydes in Manchester. Both men are relatively easy-going and no-nonsense when it comes to their approach to fighting, and Aspinall’s expectations of himself remain high, despite acknowledging Blaydes’ strength, speed and high-level wrestling.
“If it goes as planned, the fight will be as short as possible with me taking absolutely no damage,” Aspinall said. “That's what I always try and do. So, yeah, if I can get in and out of there in 15 seconds with me getting my hand raised, I'll do that every time.”
Frankly, that’s not just fighter talk from Aspinall. For the most part, that is basically what he has done throughout his UFC career. Five of his eight bouts in the Octagon took less than 90 seconds, and outside of his freak knee-injury against Blaydes, he hasn’t suffered so much as a small bruise or two.
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He anticipates a tougher test than that against the Chicago-born Blaydes, who is one of the most battle-tested and proven fighters in the division. Aspinall, his father Andy and the rest of his Evolution Fitness XL teammates (including fellow UFC 304 competitor Mick Parkin) did their best to give Aspinall the proper looks throughout camp, but, at the end of the day, it’s about executing on those weeks of preparation.
Should all go well, which would result in a raucous scene early Sunday morning in Manchester, Aspinall isn’t all too sure what is next. Defending the interim title already feels like “unprecedented territory” to him. Guessing whether he fights Jon Jones or someone else after July 27 is just a matter of letting the chips fall where they may.
“We've never been here before, so I have no idea,” Aspinall said. “I'm trying to fight everybody and anybody that I possibly can. So right now, I'm just trying to beat Curtis. That's what I'm focused on.”
Carrying the weight of a city is never an easy burden, nor is becoming the face of a nation’s MMA scene. Aspinall has always shared the responsibility, however, pointing to people like a fellow Manc in Bisping, welterweight champion Leon Edwards and Paddy Pimblett, to name a few. And while Aspinall’s walk is the third-to-last of the night preceding the welterweight title fight in the main event, it’s expected to be the loudest reception of the night.
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That’s what Aspinall always dreamed of, and he intends to soak every bit of it in as he strides to the Octagon. An athlete of Aspinall’s caliber expects to be in these high-pressure situations routinely, but doing it in Manchester, that’s a different kind of dream come true altogether.
UFC 304: Edwards vs Muhammad 2 took place live from Co-op Live in Manchester, England on July 27, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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