Tom Aspinall’s greatest strength right now is seemingly his unbreakable, single-minded focus.
“It’s not about legacy or titles or anything like that anymore,” Aspinall says during a conversation with talkSPORT.com.
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Aspinall is the UFC heavyweight champion, having previously won and defended the interim crown in the divisionCredit: Getty
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The 32-year-old knocked out Curtis Blaydes in Manchester last July to defend his status, having stopped Sergei Pavlovich eight months prior to become the interim championCredit: Getty
“I’m just trying to win the next fight, which is great. I’m not really focused on anything else apart from beating Ciryl Gane on October 25, and that’s it.”
It’s a simple yet effective message that you’re met with when speaking to the UFC heavyweight champion.
Aspinall, 32, has been preparing for his next fight for around 15 months, after a whirlwind saga with UFC great Jon Jones resulted in ‘Bones’ retiring and the Brit being elevated to undisputed champion.
The Englishman now makes the first defence of his official heavyweight title reign this Saturday in Abu Dhabi at UFC 321.
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He faces former two-time UFC heavyweight title challenger Ciryl Gane, who enters the fight on a two-fight winning streak, with his only losses in Dana White‘s promotion coming to elite operators Jones and Francis Ngannou.
Both men lock horns at the top of a tasty night in the UAE, with Virna Jandiroba fighting Mackenzie Dern for the women’s strawweight title in the co-main event and the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Alexander Volkov, Jailton Almeida, and Nathaniel Wood all featuring on the card.
Volkov’s heavyweight clash with Almeida is expected to decide the next challenger to the heavyweight throne.
Through a win, Aspinall can put himself on a trajectory to become the greatest heavyweight in UFC history.
Right now, Stipe Miocic, who retired after losing to Jones at UFC 309 in November, is widely viewed as the best to do it at heavyweight.
Miocic holds the record for the most UFC heavyweight title wins (6) and total fight night bonuses (9) collected during his iconic 13-year run.
Tom Aspinall’s UFC Record
8-1 UFC, 15-3 MMA
W. Curtis Blaydes via first-round KO (punches) at UFC 304 in July 2024W. Sergei Pavlovich via first-round KO (punches) at UFC 295 in November 2023W. Marcin Tybura via first-round TKO (elbow and punches) at UFC London in July 2023L. Curtis Blaydes via first-round TKO (knee injury) at UFC London in July 2022W. Alexander Volkov via first-round submission (straight armbar) at UFC London in March 2022W. Serghei Spivac via first-round TKO (elbow and punches) at UFC Vegas in September 2021W. Andrei Arlovski via second-round submission (rear-naked choke) at UFC Vegas in February 2021W. Alan Baudot via first-round TKO (elbows and punches) at UFC Abu Dhabi in October 2020W. Jake Collier via first-round KO (punches) at UFC Abu Dhabi in July 2020
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Gane boasts a professional MMA record of 13-2, having entered the UFC just one year before Aspinall in 2019Credit: AFP
While Aspinall admits he’s not chasing fame or status as one of the baddest men on the planet, his determined mindset means he never even thinks about it.
“I just want to go old school with it and beat the next best guy,” Aspinall adds, speaking on the goals for the rest of his UFC career, which he has acknowledged is ‘closer to the end than the beginning.’
“That’s what I want to do. I just want to prove that I’m the best, really.”
Having only fought nine times in the UFC, Aspinall is already his own record holder.
His average UFC fight time of two minutes and two seconds is currently the shortest among fighters with a minimum of five bouts, and many MMA fans expect a similar pattern to follow when he meets Gane.
Aspinall came face-to-face with his French opponent for the first time at a pre-fight press conference in Paris last month, where he was unsurprisingly met by a chorus of boos anytime he went to speak.
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Aspinall was booed at The Accor Arena in Paris as part of UFC 321’s pre-fight press conferenceCredit: Getty
Aspinall joked that he told British MMA pioneer Michael Bisping backstage that it was ‘pointless’ for him to be there, as he knew he would receive a hostile reception.
Nonetheless, the first face off didn’t change the champion’s view on what he has to do at UFC 321.
“I never look past my next opponent,” Aspinall says, speaking on Gane, who is a big underdog heading into the bout.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. It doesn’t matter what the odds are or anything like that.
“I’m just out there trying to beat the next guy. It’s heavyweight MMA – the most unpredictable sport with the most unpredictable division, and I gotta be ready for everything.
“I’ve known Ciryl for quite a while, like since I got in the UFC like six years ago.
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The UFC heavyweight champion told talkSPORT.com that he was expecting the recepetion and didn’t at all take it personallyCredit: Getty
“We have been linked together. We fought on the same show a few times — spent a fair bit of time together.
“Ciryl is a decent guy, but, at the end of the day, there’s only me and him gonna be in there on October 25.
“He’s gonna have to lose.”
Having been out for over a year due to the Jones fight that never came to fruition, Aspinall wants to stay as active as possible in his title reign.
In an ideal world, Aspinall would go in and get the job done early against Gane to be back in the Octagon before the New Year.
However, after the announcement of UFC 323 last week, it’s likely Aspinall will have to wait until January or February to book his second defence of the heavyweight title if he overcomes Gane.
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Aspinall knows he hasn’t long left at MMA’s summitCredit: Getty
The majority of the MMA world expect a lengthy spell for Aspinall at the top of the heavyweight rankings before he lays down the gloves.
As previously mentioned, Aspinall has been very open when discussing his retirement and knows he won’t be around for long.
This has led to the UFC heavyweight champion being linked with a potential switch to boxing.
Aspinall will do boxing if the time’s right — but isn’t thinking about it right now
In September, Aspinall’s dad and longtime coach Andy said his son wasn’t ‘getting paid enough’ and should consider a bout in the squared circle down the line.
Andy said he would ‘love’ Aspinall to box after he asserts his dominance in the UFC due to the sheer amount of cash currently floating about in the Saudi-backed sport.
“Maybe, but it’s not something I give a lot of great thought to,” Aspinall says when asked if he would take action on his dad’s advice.
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He contests the biggest fight of his career on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 321Credit: Getty
“I never think too far in the future anyway — maybe one day I’ll do it if I do well and take out the whole division.
“I’ve got some boxing experience, but I’m by no means a world-level boxer.
“That’s why I’m not looking too much into it right now. If the opportunity comes down the line, and I’m in a good place to do it, I’ll do it.
“Right now, that’s not of interest.”
Conor McGregor‘s famous crossover fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2017 marked the first notable movement from the UFC to boxing.
And with UFC CEO White’s new involvement in the sport, it wouldn’t come as too much of a suprirse to see Aspinall do something similiar.
Even this year, UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has called for a fight with newly crowned undisputed super middleweight champion Terence Crawford several times.
While nothing will happen in the short term, Aspinall could use his heavyweight title reign to build up his name value and finish his career on the back of a lucrative boxing bout.
His fight against Gane at UFC 321 goes down this Saturday at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
The main card, broadcast live on TNT Sports Box Office, is scheduled to begin at 7 pm UK time, with coverage of the prelims and early prelims from 3 pm on UFC Fight Pass.