Tom Aspinall

Thomas Paul Aspinall (born 11 April 1993) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. As of July 2, 2024, he is #11 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Background
Aspinall followed his father's footsteps by beginning to train martial arts when he was seven years old at the Leigh Self Defence Studio in Leigh, Greater Manchester, where he trained in jiu-jitsu. After being trained in wrestling and boxing, Aspinall transitioned to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has won the British Open in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in all belt classes except black belt. After his father became the jiu-jitsu instructor of Team Kaobon, Aspinall grew interested in mixed martial arts and transitioned into the sport. In the year after completing school at age 16, Aspinall grew from 5 ft to 6 ft, causing intense growing pains.

Early career
At age 18, Aspinall had his first amateur fight. He posted a record of 9 wins and no losses as an amateur. All but one of his wins came via knockout or submission.

Aspinall signed a five-fight contract with Cage Warriors after a 2.5-year hiatus from professional mixed martial arts. Aspinall was offered a contract by the Ultimate Fighting Championship also, but did not feel ready for the organisation and subsequently turned it down. After two fast finishes in Cage Warriors he eventually signed to the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Aspinall was originally scheduled to make his promotional debut against Raphael Pessoa at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards on 21 March 2020. However, Pessoa withdrew from the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Jake Collier, but this event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the pairing was left intact and took place on 25 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Aspinall's second UFC appearance was expected to be against Serghei Spivac at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen on 11 October 2020. However, Spivak withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Alan Baudot. Aspinall won the fight via first-round technical knockout.

Aspinall next faced Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on 20 February 2021. He won the fight via a submission in round two. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Aspinall was expected to face Sergei Pavlovich on 4 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191. However, Pavlovich was removed from the card in late-August due to alleged visa issues which restricted his ability to travel and was replaced by Serghei Spivac. Aspinall won the fight via technical knockout in round one. The win earned Aspinall his third Performance of the Night bonus award.

Aspinall was scheduled to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on 19 March 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204. However, on 21 January 2022, it was announced that Aspinall would instead face Alexander Volkov. Aspinall won the fight via straight armbar submission in round one. With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award.

Aspinall faced Curtis Blaydes on 23 July 2022, at UFC Fight Night 208. He lost the fight by technical knockout 15 seconds into the first round after being rendered unable to continue due to a knee injury.

After a year off due to his injury, Aspinall returned to face Marcin Tybura on 22 July 2023, at UFC Fight Night 224. He won the fight via TKO just over a minute into the first round. With this win, he received his fifth Performance of the Night bonus award.

On two weeks' notice, Aspinall faced Sergei Pavlovich for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship on 11 November 2023, at UFC 295 due to Jon Jones becoming injured and his fight against Stipe Miocic being cancelled. He won by first-round knockout in a little over a minute and the victory earned him his 6th Performance of the Night award.

Aspinall is scheduled to defend his interim title against Curtis Blaydes in a rematch on 27 July 2024 at UFC 304.

Personal life
Aspinall was born to parents Tracey and Andy and was raised in Atherton, Greater Manchester. He is married to his Polish wife Justyna with two sons and one daughter. One of his sons is diagnosed with autism. Aspinall can speak some Polish and says he feels very close to Poland because of his wife and half Polish children.

Mixed martial arts

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion (One time, current)
 * Performance of the Night (Six times) vs. Jake Collier, Andrei Arlovski, Serghei Spivac, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura and Sergei Pavlovich
 * Shortest average fight time in UFC history (2:10)
 * Third most knockdowns per 15 minutes in UFC history (3.46)
 * Third highest number of significant strikes landed per minute in UFC history (7.72)
 * Largest striking differential in UFC history (4.95)
 * Least bottom position time in UFC history (0:01)
 * Lowest bottom position percentage in UFC history (0.1%)
 * Sherdog
 * 2023 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year


 * Violent Money TV
 * VMTV UK MMA Male Knockout of the Year 2023