I’m Tom Aspinall
BRIT’S A FAST LEARNER
TOM ASPINALL believes experience will just have the edge in Sunday’s heavyweight title showdown – and that is the one thing he is lacking to earn his own crack at the belt.
Wigan warrior Aspinall, who has claimed three quick victories since joining the company, is well placed to assess champion Stipe Miocic’s rematch with Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.
Widely regarded as the best big man in UFC history, Miocic will be looking to again see off the threat of Ngannou following a convincing points win in 2018.
However, ‘The Predator’ has bounced back from that loss, reaffirming his astonishing punching power with four first-round knockouts.
Aspinall said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if either man won. If Ngannou knocked out Stipe in 20 seconds, I wouldn’t be surprised. Then again, Stipe could beat him again, and in my opinion he won every minute of every round the first time.
“Obviously, looking at that, Stipe is a lot better, but with Ngannou, you always have that danger that he could knock you out at any time.
“If I had to put money on it, then I would swing towards Stipe, but I would not be surprised if he got KO’D quickly either. That is what makes the heavyweight division, because you never know when that knockout may come.”
Aspinall enjoyed a statement victory at UFC
Vegas 19 in February when he forced exchampion Andrei Arlovski, 42, to tap out.
Now the 27-year-old, who is ranked No.13, wants another battled-tested campaigner as he continues his rise up the division.
He added: “I would like to fight two more times this year. Ideally, I would like to fight another veteran because I feel there is a lot to learn from these guys.
“Hopefully I can break the top 10 by the end of the year. But I just want to get a couple of more fights in first, see how I get on and try to gain as much experience as I can.
“I feel that is the thing that I am missing, that experience. I feel like I am at a skill level above a lot of these guys but I just need that experience first.”
As well as more cage time, Aspinall also wants to enter an octagon surrounded by fans, with his three UFC fights so far behind closed doors.
He said: “I have been essentially just fighting in a gym with a cage in it.
“An hour after my last fight I was just sitting in a hotel room on my own. Usually I would be partying and seeing people.
“After my last three fights – and especially the last one, as it was the biggest fight of my life – I was in bed by 10pm!”