Tom Aspinall was in a jovial mood as he joined The MMA Hour this evening. Training is going well; he feels energized and seems fully committed to achieving his goal of becoming the best heavyweight of all time. There has been a mindset shift in the past couple of weeks with Aspinall. Before, you could be forgiven if you thought he came across as a little bitter on social media as he made a number of posts about Jon Jones and his frustration at not being able to secure a fight for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title despite holding the interim belt.
Aspinall is now looking at things in a different way:
Aspinall on Jones and Miocic
”I ain’t going to let nothing or nobody hold me back, no Jon Jones, no Stipe Miocic, no Dana White, no UFC politics. They’re not holding me back, man; I’m going to be the best heavyweight ever. I’m not letting anybody or anything hold me back; I’m going full in, balls to the wall, all in; I’ll fight anybody” – Aspinall told The MMA Hour.
Helwani asked his guest when this epiphany happened, and Aspinall said it was after he had a ‘cry’ online about his current predicament at failing to secure a fight against one of the ‘big two’ in Miocic and Jones. He’s over this now and respects the wishes of the UFC despite disagreeing with the organization regarding their roadmap for the division.
Since beginning training in mixed martial arts when he was in single digits, Aspinall says that he has never turned down an opponent. He’s willing to take in all comers and is dedicated to the life of fighting. He loves the sport and loves to compete, and whoever is standing opposite him is irrelevant. The interim champion came across as a rejuvenated man and is at peace with what’s happened recently from a political point of view in the UFC:
”This is the way I look at it, Ariel. If you’re the champion of the world, that could also be known as the King. In my opinion, through my experience, through history, and all the rest of it, what the King does when somebody tries to take his throne is defend the throne. They don’t nitpick and go, ‘I’m not going to defend against these guys.’ If someone challenges you, mate, and you’re the [true] King, you’re defending and putting them back in their place.”
Who’s next for Aspinall?
There doesn’t seem to be a clear favorite when it comes to predicting Aspinall’s next opponent, as all comers are welcome. Should Curtis Blaydes defeat Jailton Almeida at UFC 299, Aspinall said he would like to avenge his defeat. If you recall, it was against Blaydes in London where Aspinall suffered his horrific leg injury, ruling him out of action for the best part of a year. Impressive wins over Marcin Tybura and Sergei Pavlovich came when the Brit returned to action, and Aspinall is ready to continue his impressive run against anybody who dares to challenge him.
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