Tag: tom aspinall

Report | Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes Headlines UFC London On July 23.

Tom AspinallA heavyweight main event for UFC Fight Night London on July 23. has been set – with surging promotional-perfect contender, the #6 ranked contender, and recent UFC Columbus main event winner, the #4 rated, Curtis Blaydes set to meet in a headlining slot. The O2 Arena in London, England will host the promotion’s second outing […]

Tom Aspinall

A heavyweight main event for UFC Fight Night London on July 23. has been set – with surging promotional-perfect contender, the #6 ranked contender, and recent UFC Columbus main event winner, the #4 rated, Curtis Blaydes set to meet in a headlining slot. The O2 Arena in London, England will host the promotion’s second outing in the country’s capital this year.

Headlining UFC London back in March, Atherton favorite, Tom Aspinall managed to land his fifth organizational victory since his July 2020 landing in the promotion, stopping common-foe, Alexander Volkov with a rather straightforward first round straight armbar victory.

For Blaydes, the former Juco national champion lodged his second consecutive victory to inch closer to title contention back in the main event of UFC Fight Night Columbus in March, stopping Chris Daukaus with a second round knockout. The victory earned Blaydes a Performance of the Night bonus. Ariel Helwani was first to report the main event bout between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes. 

12-2 as a professional, Team Kaobon staple, Tom Aspinall had managed to enjoy a run of two straight wins last year – stopping Sergey Spivak with a relatively comprehensive first round knockout at UFC Vegas 36 last September. Aspinall also submitted former heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski – adding the Belarusian veteran to prior UFC wins against both Alan Baudot, and Jake Collier.

16-3(1) as a professional, prior to his knockout success against Daukaus, Blaydes rebounded from a crushing knockout loss to Derrick Lewis with a unanimous decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik on the main card of UFC 265 back in September of last year. 

Amongst his other Octagon victories, the experienced wrestler, Blaydes, has also bested the likes of Alexey Oleynik, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Junior dos Santos, and the above mentioned, Volkov.

Darren Till, a teammate of Tom Aspinall, is expected to co-headline the event

A co-main event bout between one-time welterweight title challenger turned middleweight contender, Darren Till, and former Cage Warriors titleholder, Jack Hermansson has also been verbally agreed to for the event, after the duo teased a summer UK showdown earlier this week.

“UFC London, our source tell us Jack Hermansson vs. Darren Till has verbally agreed to fight at UFC London on 23 July!” MMANYTT posted on Twitter.

Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall To Headline July 23 UFC London Card

Tom Aspinall will get his second consecutive UK headliner, this time facing top-5 heavyweight Curtis Blaydes. On March 19, the MMA leader took over The O2 in England’s capital. On the show were some of the best fighters the UK has to offer, and boy did they deliver. From Muhammad Mokaev’s memorable debut and Tom…

Continue Reading Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall To Headline July 23 UFC London Card at MMA News.

Tom Aspinall will get his second consecutive UK headliner, this time facing top-5 heavyweight Curtis Blaydes.

On March 19, the MMA leader took over The O2 in England’s capital. On the show were some of the best fighters the UK has to offer, and boy did they deliver.

From Muhammad Mokaev’s memorable debut and Tom Aspinall’s main event submission to a showcase of Liverpudlian talent courtesy of Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett, UFC London will certainly be in the discussion for ‘Event of the Year’ come the end of 2022.

Now, the city will have the chance to add a second blockbuster event to the discussion in a few months’ time.

On Thursday, the promotion officially confirmed that the second iteration of UFC London in 2022 is indeed set for July 23, with tickets slated to go on sale late next month.

Saturday, multiple sources confirmed Ariel Helwani’s report that Aspinall will be facing Curtis Blaydes to headline the event.

Aspinall is ranked #6 after his submission victory over Alexander Volkov at UFC London. His upcoming opponent, #4-ranked Curtis Blaydes has won two straight fights, including a very impressive TKO victory over Chris Daukaus last month to take home Performance of the Night.

This announcement comes shortly after news broke of Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa meeting this fall. Jon Jones has also hinted at a fight against Stipe Miocic in September. With this pairing between Aspinall and Blaydes now locked in, there is now a clear direction for the heavyweight contenders as champion Francis Ngannou recovers from knee surgery.

Elsewhere on this card, Mokaev and McCann, who both had their hand raised on the memorable March 19 card, both look set to feature again. The Dagestani-Brit’s sophomore outing is already confirmed for July 23 and will see him go up against promotional newcomer Charles Johnson.

Meanwhile, “Meatball” Molly teased her own return on Instagram earlier this week. After revealing she’d “got the call, signed the contract,” the Liverpool native told fans she’d see them at the end of July.

Also, English bantamweight prospect Nathaniel Wood, who was pulled from the previous UFC London card after both Liudivik Sholinian and replacement opponent Vince Morales withdrew, looks set to finally make his walk in front of his home crowd. The 28-year-old recently posted training footage on social media, with a caption that simply said, “July.”

Are you excited for the UFC’s second trip to London this year on July 23?

Continue Reading Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall To Headline July 23 UFC London Card at MMA News.

Aspinall Targets “UK Darling” Status After First Home-Crowd Experience

Now that UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall has got a taste of fighting in front of a home crowd, he knows where he wants to compete moving forward. At UFC London, Aspinall ticked off a number of things. First main event on MMA’s biggest stage? Check. First UFC outing in front of an arena crowd? Check….

Continue Reading Aspinall Targets “UK Darling” Status After First Home-Crowd Experience at MMA News.

Now that UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall has got a taste of fighting in front of a home crowd, he knows where he wants to compete moving forward.

At UFC London, Aspinall ticked off a number of things. First main event on MMA’s biggest stage? Check. First UFC outing in front of an arena crowd? Check. First top-10 opponent added to his record? Check. A place in the title conversation? Check.

The man who fell in order for those things to happen was Alexander Volkov. Making his sixth headline appearance in the UFC, the Russian was looking to maintain his place on the heavyweight ladder by halting the surging of England’s Aspinall.

He failed to do so in the second round after getting caught in a brutal straight armbar. The response inside London’s O2 Arena was raucous, and the celebrations outside were just as electric.

As for his next step, Aspinall has made it clear what he wants: a scrap and a shoey with the UFC’s chief entertainer, Tai Tuivasa. Where does he want that to take place, you might ask? Well, there’s only one place, isn’t there?

Aspinall: “I Want To Be The UK Guy”

During a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Aspinall, who now boasts a perfect 5-0 promotional record and sits at #6 in the UFC’s heavyweight rankings, was asked if he’d be willing to fight “Bam Bam” outside of the UK.

While his response wasn’t exactly a no, the Manchester native’s intentions moving forward are certainly clear.

“I want to be the UK guy. I want to fight in the UK,” asserted Aspinall. “I don’t want to go on a card now and just be another guy on the card, you know what I mean? I want to be the UK darling. I want to be that guy.”

After the success of UFC London, an event that marked the promotion’s first trip across the Atlantic since 2019, Dana White made it clear the region’s fans will see another event there before the end of 2022. With that in mind, Aspinall may very well get his wish.

And with the Englishman’s inside sources suggesting any negotiations for a fight between Tuivasa and Stipe Miocic are not even close to coming to a successful conclusion, perhaps the Aussie will be standing opposite Aspinall in the UFC”s next visit to the UK.

Would you like to see Tom Aspinall and Tai Tuivasa collide in the UK later this year?

Continue Reading Aspinall Targets “UK Darling” Status After First Home-Crowd Experience at MMA News.

Tom Aspinall Praises Tyson Fury for Changing His Career

Tom AspinallTom Aspinall has praised ‘The Gypsy King’ for the support he gave him through the early stages of his career. Tom Aspinall is set to headline UFC London this weekend taking on Alexander Volkov spoke to Sky Sports regarding the influence Fury was able to have on him. Tom Aspinall On Tyson Fury’s Influence “I […]

Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall has praised ‘The Gypsy King’ for the support he gave him through the early stages of his career.

Tom Aspinall is set to headline UFC London this weekend taking on Alexander Volkov spoke to Sky Sports regarding the influence Fury was able to have on him.

Tom Aspinall On Tyson Fury’s Influence

“I think Tyson Fury has helped me the most mentally, obviously I improved a lot in my skillset. My boxing improved. He brought me a long way skill-wise.

“But more so mentally, like, if Tyson Fury ever gets a watch of this thank you. I’ve never actually had the chance to thank him for it, like he has completely changed my career and the outlook for what I’ve got on combat and at fighting.

“Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am now all because my mentality has changed completely since I trained with him. It was quite a long time ago now; I was in my early twenties and wasn’t sure if I wanted to carry on with this sport or box or stop fighting altogether, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. He completely changed my whole outlook on everything so yeah I appreciate it.”

It seems a good thing that Fury was able to convince Tom Aspinall to either continue or look to pursue MMA because the UFC heavyweight is beginning to come into his own now. Alexander Volkov will be the toughest test to date for Aspinall who currently sits 11th in the heavyweight rankings. However, if he can overcome this, he would certainly guarantee himself Volkov’s slot at number 6 and put himself one giant step closer to a chance at UFC gold.

Fury will be supporting Aspinall when he steps into the octagon this weekend in the hopes his former training partner and friend can get the job done.

Does Tom Aspinall get past Alexander Volkov this weekend?

Fury Sends Encouraging Message To Aspinall Ahead Of UFC London

Ahead of Tom Aspinall’s upcoming UFC London main event, boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has sent him a motivational message. This Saturday, Tom Aspinall faces Alexander Volkov at UFC London. Aspinall (11-2) possesses a strong record leading up to his match with the 6 foot 7 “Drago.” Additionally, none of his professional fights have gone…

Continue Reading Fury Sends Encouraging Message To Aspinall Ahead Of UFC London at MMA News.

Ahead of Tom Aspinall’s upcoming UFC London main event, boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has sent him a motivational message.

This Saturday, Tom Aspinall faces Alexander Volkov at UFC London. Aspinall (11-2) possesses a strong record leading up to his match with the 6 foot 7 “Drago.” Additionally, none of his professional fights have gone to a decision.

At just 28 years of age, the English fighter has racked up nothing but nasty early-round submissions and knockouts. Aspinall’s last seven, back-to-back victories mostly ended in TKOs, one including a leg injury when he fought with Cage Warriors.

In his last dominant performance, he ended Sergey Spivak with a vicious combo of punches and elbows.

Tom Aspinall and Sergey Spivak
Tom Aspinall and Sergey Spivak at UFC Fight Night 191, Photo Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Clearly, Aspinall is capable of destroying his opponents, but in case he needs some extra encouragement, WBC Champion Tyson Fury, who defends his title again next month, wished his friend good luck and clear instructions on how to deal with Volkov.

“Hey Tyson Fury, here. I just want to wish my buddy Tom Aspinall all the best in his upcoming UFC heavyweight fight. Good luck, Tom. Do the business. Smash his face in. Get up there, my boy, all the way to the mother(beep) bank, man, do it.”

Having “The Gypsy King” offer words of encouragement before a big fight carries some world champion weight to it. And it may be necessary as Aspinall faces an opponent with a very experienced career.

Russian-born Alexander Volkov has accumulated 22 knockouts in his 34 wins. His most recent fight was a loss to the #1 heavyweight contender, Ciryl Gane.

Both fighters enter their match with a win, but can Volkov end Aspinall’s devastating seven-fight win streak, or will Aspinall “smash his face in” and continue on his path of victory?

What are your thoughts on Tyson Fury’s message to Tom Aspinall?

Continue Reading Fury Sends Encouraging Message To Aspinall Ahead Of UFC London at MMA News.

Tyson Fury Is Rooting For Tom Aspinall At UFC London

Tyson FuryHeavyweight champion Tyson Fury is all in on Tom Aspinall this weekend, as he is cheering for him to beat Alexander Volkov at UFC London. Fury and Aspinall were former sparring partners and the two trained together for nearly two years. Aspinall was one of the fighters that helped Fury get back on track after […]

Tyson Fury

Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is all in on Tom Aspinall this weekend, as he is cheering for him to beat Alexander Volkov at UFC London.

Fury and Aspinall were former sparring partners and the two trained together for nearly two years. Aspinall was one of the fighters that helped Fury get back on track after his long battle with depression and substance abuse.

Aspinall finds himself fighting amongst some of the UK’s biggest stars that include Paddy Pimblett, Arnold Allen, and many more. The event is set to have some fantastic scraps.

Tyson Fury made a video to hype up the fight and root for Tom Aspinall

“I just want to wish my buddy Tom Aspinall all the best in his upcoming UFC heavyweight fight. Good luck Tom, do the business. Smash his face in! Get up there, my boy, all the way to the motherf**king bank, man.” (H/T Sportskeeda)

Aspinall is one of the best up and coming fighters in the entire organization. He is currently undefeated in the division and is thought to be the next title challenger. He currently has finishes in all four of his fights inside the UFC.

He has TKO’s over Sergey Spivak, Alan Baudot, and Jake Collier. He also has a submission victory over UFC great and former champion, Andrei Arlovski. He was able to catch Arlovski in a rear naked choke in the second round. His other wins were all first round finishes.

Fury on the other hand, has a fight lined up with Dillian Whyte that will take place on April 23rd. The two British fighters will square off in a highly anticipated fight, that could lead to Fury either fighting Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usykfter afterwards.

Do you think Tom Aspinall wins this weekend in London against Alexander Volkov?