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Aspinall: Jones’ Heavyweight Transition Will Be Harder Than People Think

UFC heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall doesn’t think it’ll be a walk in the park for Jon Jones in his planned move to heavyweight in 2022.

Aspinall is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous heavyweight contenders in the UFC. After seven-strai…

UFC heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall doesn’t think it’ll be a walk in the park for Jon Jones in his planned move to heavyweight in 2022.

Aspinall is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous heavyweight contenders in the UFC. After seven-straight wins, he’ll get a main event slot against Alexander Volkov on the upcoming UFC London card in March.

Jones is expected to make his return to the Octagon in 2022 at heavyweight, but it’s unclear if he’ll face heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next. He’s been sidelined for nearly two years amidst an ongoing contract dispute with the UFC, in addition to his preparation for the move up in weight.

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Aspinall opined on who would win in a matchup between Ngannou and Jones.

“Ngannou… I think the big jump between (light heavyweight and heavyweight), him (Jones) carrying an extra 30, 40, 50 pounds, whatever he’s put on, that’s very difficult man, that’s very difficult,” Aspinall said. “That’s a lot of weight to carry around with you that you’re not used to before. Then you’ve got to fight a guy who’s naturally that weight. So, I think it’s gonna be a lot more difficult than a lot of people think. But obviously, Jones is much more skilled than Ngannou, so I don’t know. But I think Ngannou just looks unstoppable at the moment.”

Depending on how his fight with Volkov plays out, Aspinall and Jones could be on a collision course soon. The heavyweight title picture is a bit uncertain as Ngannou continues to quarrel with the UFC brass.

Jones vacated the UFC light heavyweight title following his win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. Reyes and Jan Blachowicz would go on to fight for the vacant belt just months later.

UFC President Dana White has remained cautiously optimistic about Jones challenging for the heavyweight title next.

As the UFC faithful continues to wait for Jones’ return to the cage, speculation continues to grow as to how he’ll do at heavyweight. Aspinall may not be alone in his reservations of Jones’ planned move to challenge for heavyweight gold.

Do you agree with Tom Aspinall’s comments on Jon Jones?

Continue Reading Aspinall: Jones’ Heavyweight Transition Will Be Harder Than People Think at MMA News.

Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov To Headline UFC London

UFC heavyweights, Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov are set to headline the UFC’s Fight Night card in London on March 19. The UFC is finally set to make a return to the United Kingdom for the first time since 2019, in an event which is set to be held at the 02 Arena in London. […]

UFC heavyweights, Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov are set to headline the UFC’s Fight Night card in London on March 19.

The UFC is finally set to make a return to the United Kingdom for the first time since 2019, in an event which is set to be held at the 02 Arena in London. The UFC was supposed to return in March of 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic meant that card was scrapped.

The event will showcase British talent including Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblet, Jack Shore, Jake Hadley and Molly McCann all expected to compete on the undercard.

No. 10 ranked Aspinall was originally set to take on Shamil Adurakhimov on the undercard but the UFC instead chose to pair the Wigan-based prospect with the much more experienced and higher ranked Volkov in the main event of the evening.

The Background of Tom Aspinall v Alexander Volkov

Aspinall has impressed many with both his attitude and performances inside the cage since his debut with the promotion in mid-2020. Aspinall’s fast hands and the technical game has seen him gain finishes in all of his UFC fights (3 KO, 1 Sub) with his most notable name on his record being Andrei Arlovski but he also scored an impressive first-round KO over the ranked Sergey Spivak.

Former UFC champion and UK MMA legend, Michael Bisping had high praise for the young heavyweight “He’s such a big guy, but he moves like a middleweight. He’s fast on his feet and very agile. He has the speed, which is important. Speed kills power and on top of that he has the power. He’s a big dude, he can wrestle, has heavy hands, is agile. He’s potentially a champion.” (Transcribed by talkSPORT)

Standing opposite Aspinall will stand the towering No.5 ranked Volkov. The former Bellator heavyweight champion will hold a sizeable experience advantage over the Brit, having nearly 45 professional fights.

The Russian quickly became in the discussion as a potential title contender and consistently been in around the top five for years. Volkov holds impressive wins over Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson Stefan Struve and Alistair Overeem. However, recent losses to Curtis Blaydes and Ciryl Gane have derailed his title charge.

What do you think? How will Tom Aspinall V Alexander Volkov go?

Report: Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov To Headline UFC London

Rising heavyweight Tom Aspinall and divisional veteran Alexander Volkov are expected to headline UFC’s return to London, England later this year, per a report.

Volkov and Aspinall are set to serve as the main event for a March 19th UFC “Fight Night…

Rising heavyweight Tom Aspinall and divisional veteran Alexander Volkov are expected to headline UFC’s return to London, England later this year, per a report.

Volkov and Aspinall are set to serve as the main event for a March 19th UFC “Fight Night” event from the O2 Arena, per a report from Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

The matchup gives Aspinall a chance to compete in his first UFC main event fight. His short run with the promotion has been explosive thus far, stopping all four of his opponents in the cage. This includes two wins from last year, which came against Andrei Arlovski and Serghei Spivac.

Aspinall was first initially booked to face Shamil Abdurakhimov in a non-headlining fight on this card. It is not known what the plan is for Abdurakhimov now that this matchup has been booked.

Volkov Returns To Familiar Headlining Position

Alexander Volkov, Alistair Overeem — Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Volkov has fought some of the top names at heavyweight for most of his 11-fight UFC career. He is no stranger to headlining cards, as the new booking is scheduled to be his sixth time in the main event spot.

Volkov is coming off a win, as his last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Marcin Tybura in October at UFC 267. His last main event fight was in June 2021, when he lost to now-interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane.

Aspinall is just one of the many England-based fighters that are expected for the show. Earlier today, it was reported that Paddy Pimblett will also return on the card against Kazula Vargas.

The event marks UFC’s first time in London in over three years, as the COVID-19 pandemic has limited the number of locations they can travel to.

With this main event announced, here is the updated lineup for UFC London:

Heavyweight Bout: Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall

Lightweight Bout: Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas

Featherweight Bout: Mike Grundy vs. Makwan Amirkhani

Bantamweight Bout: Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev

Flyweight Bout: Molly McCann vs. Luana Carolina

Flyweight Bout: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Cody Durden

Strawweight Bout: Elise Reed vs. Cory McKenna

Flyweight Bout: Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento

How do you think Tom Aspinall will do in his very first UFC main event fight?

Continue Reading Report: Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov To Headline UFC London at MMA News.

Report: Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov To Headline UFC London

Rising heavyweight Tom Aspinall and divisional veteran Alexander Volkov are expected to headline UFC’s return to London, England later this year, per a report.

Volkov and Aspinall are set to serve as the main event for a March 19th UFC “Fight Night…

Rising heavyweight Tom Aspinall and divisional veteran Alexander Volkov are expected to headline UFC’s return to London, England later this year, per a report.

Volkov and Aspinall are set to serve as the main event for a March 19th UFC “Fight Night” event from the O2 Arena, per a report from Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Aspinall was first initially booked to face Shamil Abdurakhimov in a non-headlining fight on this card. It is not known what the plan is for Abdurakhimov now that this matchup has been booked.

Volkov Returns To Familiar Headlining Position

Aspinall is just one of the many England-based fighters that are expected for the show. Earlier today, it was reported that Paddy Pimblett will also return on the card against Kazula Vargas.

The event marks UFC’s first time in London in over three years, as the COVID-19 pandemic has limited the number of locations they can travel to.

With this main event announced, here is the updated lineup for UFC London:

Heavyweight Bout: Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall

Lightweight Bout: Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas

Featherweight Bout: Mike Grundy vs. Makwan Amirkhani

Bantamweight Bout: Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev

Flyweight Bout: Molly McCann vs. Luana Carolina

Flyweight Bout: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Cody Durden

Strawweight Bout: Elise Reed vs. Cory McKenna

Flyweight Bout: Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento

How do you think Tom Aspinall will do in his very first UFC main event fight?

Continue Reading Report: Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov To Headline UFC London at MMA News.

Tom Aspinall Blown Away By Khamzat Chimaev And His Training

UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall isn’t one to mince words, but watching Khamzat Chimaev train had him in awe. Chimaev and Aspinall will likely never compete against one another in the Octagon, but Aspinall was shocked watching Chimaev train while both of them were on a recent Fight Island card. Chimaev is undefeated in his professional […]

UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall isn’t one to mince words, but watching Khamzat Chimaev train had him in awe.

Chimaev and Aspinall will likely never compete against one another in the Octagon, but Aspinall was shocked watching Chimaev train while both of them were on a recent Fight Island card.

Chimaev is undefeated in his professional MMA career and is coming off arguably the most impressive performance of his time in the UFC against Li Jingliang. At UFC 267, Chimaev rag-dolled Jingliang and earned a first-round finish on the ground.

During a recent interview on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast, Aspinall told a story about getting to see Chimaev in action from up close.

“You can’t really avoid them at this point,” Aspinall said of Chimaev. “I mean, he’s everywhere. He’s a scary guy from what I’ve seen. He actually made his debut, I believe, on the same card as me. Or I was on the same card as him in Abu Dhabi. He was warming up with [Alexander] Gustafsson. Obviously, Gustafsson is a much bigger guy physically than Chimaev and the guy was just launching him all over the place.”

Khamzat Chimaev Has Recently Called For Fights With Top Contenders

Assuming that Aspinall’s story is true, that’s a terrifying thought for Chimaev’s possible next opponents. Chimaev has competed at welterweight and middleweight during his UFC career and has won with relative ease so far.

Chimaev has remained active on social media since his win at UFC 267. He’s called out Nate Diaz for a fight, but it sounds like Diaz doesn’t want to fight him with his relatively limited experience.

Chimaev could be on the fast track to a title shot in the UFC, and it seems like his star power is just starting to come to the surface.

What do you think is Khamzat Chimaev’s ceiling in the UFC?

Tom Aspinall To Return In March Against Top-10 Opponent Shamil Abdurakhimov

Tom Aspinall will have a chance to become a top-10 heavyweight in the UFC.

According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Aspinall will face Shamil Abdurakhimov on March 19. The location of the fight is not known at this time, the main event of the card has al…

Tom Aspinall will have a chance to become a top-10 heavyweight in the UFC.

According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Aspinall will face Shamil Abdurakhimov on March 19. The location of the fight is not known at this time, the main event of the card has also not been announced as Aspinall vs. Abdurakhimov is the only fight announced for the card.

Tom Aspinall (11-2) is coming off a first-round TKO win over Sergey Spivak in September. It was his fourth win inside the Octagon as he become one of the hottest prospects in the heavyweight division. After his win over Spivak, he said he just wanted to fight the person ranked ahead of him as he wants to take his time but that won’t be the case.

Aspinall made his promotional debut on Fight Island in July where he scored a 45-second TKO over Jake Collier. He followed it up with a TKO win over Alan Baudot in a 1:35 and then submitted Andrei Arlovski in just 79 seconds. He has yet to go past 2:30 of the first round in his career and is currently ranked 11th at heavyweight.

Shamil Abdurakhimov | UFC — Shamil Abdurakhimov, Credit: UFC.com

Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-6) is the eighth-ranked heavyweight is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Chris Daukaus at UFC 266. It marked his return to the sport after not fighting since UFC 242 in October of 2019 where he suffered a second-round TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes. The 40-year-old is 5-4 inside the Octagon with notable wins over Arlovski, Marcin Tybura, and Walt Harris. He has also headlined a UFC card against Derrick Lewis where he lost by fourth-round TKO.

Who do you think will win, Tom Aspinall or Shamil Abdurakhimov?

Continue Reading Tom Aspinall To Return In March Against Top-10 Opponent Shamil Abdurakhimov at MMA News.