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Tom Aspinall

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Tom Aspinall
BornThomas Paul Aspinall
(1993-04-11) 11 April 1993 (age 31)
Salford, England
NicknameHoney Badger
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight251 lb (114 kg; 17 st 13 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight
Reach78 in (198 cm)[1]
Fighting out ofAtherton, Greater Manchester, England
TeamTeam Kaobon[2]
Aspinall BJJ (2005–present)[3][4]
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[5][4]
Years active2014–present
Professional boxing record
Total1
Wins1
By knockout1
Mixed martial arts record
Total18
Wins15
By knockout12
By submission3
Losses3
By knockout1
By submission1
By disqualification1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Thomas Paul Aspinall[6] (born 11 April 1993)[7] is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. As of 27 August 2024, he is #8 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.[8] Aspinall is known for his finishing ability, having finished six of his eight UFC wins by the halfway point of the first round, and holds the UFC record for shortest average fight time at two minutes and two seconds.[9]

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. After being trained in Catch wrestling and boxing, Aspinall transitioned to jiu-jitsu.[2][4] He has won the British Open in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in all belt classes except black belt.[4][10] After his father became the jiu-jitsu instructor of Team Kaobon, Aspinall grew interested in mixed martial arts and transitioned into the sport.[2] In the year after completing school at age 16, Aspinall grew from 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) to 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m), causing intense growing pains.[11]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

At age 18, Aspinall had his first amateur fight. He posted a record of nine wins and no losses as an amateur.[12] All but one of his wins came via knockout or submission.[13]

Aspinall signed a five-fight contract with Cage Warriors after a 2.5-year hiatus from professional mixed martial arts.[14][4] Aspinall was offered a contract by the Ultimate Fighting Championship also, but did not feel ready for the organisation and subsequently turned it down.[14] After two fast finishes in Cage Warriors he eventually signed to the UFC.[14][4]

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.[15] However, Pessoa withdrew from the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Jake Collier,[16] but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] Subsequently, the pairing was left intact and took place on 25 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14.[18] He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.[19] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[20]

Aspinall's second UFC appearance was expected to be against Serghei Spivac at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen on 11 October 2020.[21] However, Spivak withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Alan Baudot.[22] Aspinall won the fight via first-round technical knockout.[23]

Aspinall next faced Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on 20 February 2021.[24] He won the fight via a submission in round two.[25] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[26]

Aspinall was expected to face Sergei Pavlovich on 4 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191.[27] 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.[28] Aspinall won the fight via technical knockout in round one.[29] The win earned Aspinall his third Performance of the Night bonus award.[30]

Aspinall was scheduled to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on 19 March 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204.[31] However, on 21 January 2022, it was announced that Aspinall would instead face Alexander Volkov.[32] Aspinall won the fight via straight armbar submission in round one.[33] With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award.[34]

Aspinall faced Curtis Blaydes on 23 July 2022, at UFC Fight Night 208.[35] He lost the fight by technical knockout 15 seconds into the first round after being rendered unable to continue due to a knee injury.[36]

After a year off due to his injury, Aspinall returned to face Marcin Tybura on 22 July 2023, at UFC Fight Night 224.[37] He won the fight via TKO just over a minute into the first round.[38] With this win, he received his fifth Performance of the Night bonus award.[39]

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.[40] He won by first-round knockout in a little over a minute and the victory earned him his sixth Performance of the Night award.[41][42]

Aspinall defended his interim title against Curtis Blaydes in a rematch on 27 July 2024 at UFC 304.[43] He won the fight by knockout one minute into the first round.[44][45] This fight earned him a $100,000 Performance of the Night award.[46]

Aspinall served as the backup fighter for the UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between the current champion Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic on 16 November 2024 at UFC 309.[47]

Personal life

Aspinall was born to parents Tracey and Andy and was raised in Atherton, Greater Manchester.[48] He is married to his Polish wife Justyna with two sons and one daughter.[49] One of his sons is diagnosed with autism.[50] Aspinall can speak some Polish and says he feels very close to Poland because of his wife and half Polish children.[51]

His nickname is "Honey Badger".[52][53]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
18 matches 15 wins 3 losses
By knockout 12 1
By submission 3 1
By disqualification 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 15–3 Curtis Blaydes KO (punches) UFC 304 27 July 2024 1 1:00 Manchester, England Defended the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win 14–3 Sergei Pavlovich KO (punches) UFC 295 11 November 2023 1 1:09 New York City, New York, United States Won the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win 13–3 Marcin Tybura TKO (elbow and punches) UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura 22 July 2023 1 1:13 London, England Performance of the Night.
Loss 12–3 Curtis Blaydes TKO (knee injury) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall 23 July 2022 1 0:15 London, England
Win 12–2 Alexander Volkov Submission (straight armbar) UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall 19 March 2022 1 3:45 London, England Performance of the Night.
Win 11–2 Serghei Spivac TKO (elbow and punches) UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till 4 September 2021 1 2:30 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 10–2 Andrei Arlovski Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis 20 February 2021 2 1:09 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 9–2 Alan Baudot TKO (elbows and punches) UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen 10 October 2020 1 1:35 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 8–2 Jake Collier TKO (knee and punches) UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till 26 July 2020 1 0:45 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Performance of the Night.
Win 7–2 Mickael Ben Hamouda TKO (punches) Cage Warriors 107 28 September 2019 1 0:56 Liverpool, England
Win 6–2 Sofiane Boukichou TKO (leg injury) Cage Warriors 101 16 February 2019 1 1:21 Liverpool, England
Win 5–2 Kamil Bazelak KO (punch) Full Contact Contender 16 18 June 2016 1 1:16 Bolton, England
Loss 4–2 Łukasz Parobiec DQ (illegal downward elbow) BAMMA 25 14 May 2016 2 3:33 Birmingham, England
Win 4–1 Adrian Ruskac TKO (punches) Full Contact Contender 15 5 March 2016 1 1:05 Bolton, England
Loss 3–1 Stuart Austin Submission (heel hook) BAMMA 21 13 June 2015 2 3:59 Birmingham, England
Win 3–0 Satisch Jhamai TKO (punches) BAMMA 19 28 March 2015 1 0:09 Blackpool, England
Win 2–0 Ricky King Submission (heel hook) BAMMA 18 21 February 2015 1 0:49 Wolverhampton, England
Win 1–0 Michał Piszczek TKO (submission to punches) MMA Versus UK: Empire Rises 13 December 2014 1 0:15 Manchester, England Heavyweight debut.

[58]

Professional boxing record

1 fight 1 win 0 losses
By knockout 1 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 Win 1–0 Hungary Tamas Bajzath KO 1 (4), 1:24 24 June 2017 United Kingdom Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, England

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Stats | UFC". ufc.com. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Joe Coleman (25 July 2020). "Tom Aspinall is a lightning fast, 6ft 6in heavyweight making his UFC debut on Fight Island who spars with Tyson Fury and trains with Darren Till". talksport.com.
  3. ^ "History – Aspinall BJJ". aspinallbjj.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Dan Lester (27 May 2020). "Fisticuffs #51 Tom Aspinall" (Podcast).
  5. ^ "Tom Aspinall | UFC". UFC.com. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Tom Aspinall MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Tom Aspinall MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  8. ^ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Record Book". UFC (in Zulu). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Instructors – Aspinall BJJ". aspinallbjj.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Tom Aspinall surprised UFC win over Alexander Volkov was that easy". New York Post. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  12. ^ "The BIGGEST Piece of Advice for Amateur MMA Fighters." 1:30. YouTube. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  13. ^ Sherdog: Tom Aspinall. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b c John Hyon Ko (11 March 2020). "Interview: Tom Aspinall (UFC Heavyweight)" (Podcast).
  15. ^ Nolan King (15 July 2020). "Justin Tafa off July 25 UFC 'Fight Island' event; Tanner Boser expected to face Raphael Pessoa". MMAjunkie.com.
  16. ^ Redactie (12 February 2020). "JAfter 2.5 years of absence from UFC, Jake Collier makes a comeback against Tom Aspinall in London". mmadna. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  17. ^ O2, The. "Cancelled | UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Woodley vs. Edwards | The O2". theo2.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Mike Heck (18 June 2020). "UFC announces full lineups for July events on 'Fight Island,' including four title fights". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  19. ^ Bitter, Shawn (25 July 2020). "UFC Fight Island 3 Results: Tom Aspinall Makes Short Work of Heavyweight Jake Collier". Cageside Press. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  20. ^ a b Dan Hiergesell (26 July 2020). "Official UFC on ESPN 14 bonuses: Chimaev, Werdum among six to earn extra $50K". mmamania.com.
  21. ^ "Sergey Spivak vs. Tom Aspinall added to UFC event on October 10". mmadna.nl. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020. (in Dutch)
  22. ^ "Alan Baudot tekent contract bij de UFC, treft Tom Aspinall op 10 oktober in Abu Dhabi". MMA DNA. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  23. ^ Ross Markey (10 October 2020). "Tom Aspinall Stops Alan Baudot With First Round Ground-And-Pound – UFC Fight Island 5 Highlights". lowkickmma.com.
  24. ^ Alexander K. Lee (5 January 2021). "Andrei Arlovski vs. Tom Aspinall announced for Feb. 20 UFC event". mmafighting.com.
  25. ^ Anderson, Jay (20 February 2021). "UFC Vegas 19 Results: Tom Aspinall Taps Ex-Champ Arlovski". Cageside Press. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  26. ^ a b Hiergesell, Dan (20 February 2021). "UFC Vegas 19 Bonuses! Aspinall Banks $50K For Submitting Arlovski". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  27. ^ McCarthy, Alex (11 August 2021). "British UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall will fight on Darren Till undercard against Sergei Pavlovich". TalkSport.com. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  28. ^ Nolan King and John Morgan (28 August 2021). "Sergei Pavlovich out of UFC Fight Night 191 co-main event vs. Tom Aspinall; new opponent targeted". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  29. ^ Evanoff, Josh (4 September 2021). "UFC Vegas 36 Results: Tom Aspinall Smashes Sergey Spivak in First Round". Cageside Press. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  30. ^ a b "UFC Fight Night 191 bonuses: Tom Aspinall's first-round finish, Paddy Pimblett's debut TKO among extra $50k earners". MMA Junkie. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  31. ^ Behunin, Alex (2 November 2021). "Tom Aspinall vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov Set For March 19 UFC Event". Cageside Press. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  32. ^ "UFC London Main Event: Volkov vs. Aspinall". Eurosport (in Dutch). 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  33. ^ Behunin, Alex (19 March 2022). "UFC London: Tom Aspinall Taps Alexander Volkov In Round One, Calls Out Tuivasa". Cageside Press. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  34. ^ a b "UFC Fight Night 204 bonuses: Nine fighters go home with $50,000". MMA Junkie. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  35. ^ "Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall slated for UFC London main event on July 23". MMA Junkie. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  36. ^ Law, Eddie (23 July 2022). "UFC London: Aspinall Suffers Knee Injury 15 Seconds In, Blaydes Takes TKO Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Tom Aspinall returns from year-long injury layoff to headline UFC London vs. Marcin Tybura". MMA Junkie. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  38. ^ Anderson, Jay (22 July 2023). "UFC London: Tom Aspinall Makes Thunderous Statement, Stops Marcin Tybura in Return". Cageside Press. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  39. ^ a b Matthew Wells (22 July 2023). "UFC Fight Night 224 bonuses: Tom Aspinall earns $50,000 in triumphant return from injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  40. ^ "Breaking: UFC rocked by another injury bombshell as Jon Jones out of huge UFC 295 title fight". Fox Sports. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  41. ^ a b Chris Taylor (11 November 2023). "UFC 295 Bonus Report: Seven fighters take home an extra $50k". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  42. ^ a b "UFC 295 - Tom Aspinall quickly knocks out Sergei Pavlovich for interim heavyweight title". Yahoo Sports. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  43. ^ "UFC 304 official with Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad headliner and more in Manchester". MMA Junkie. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  44. ^ Jay Anderson (28 July 2024). "UFC 304: Tom Aspinall Takes All Of A Minute to KO Curtis Blaydes". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  45. ^ Paul Battison (28 July 2024). "Superb Aspinall stops Blaydes in 60 seconds". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  46. ^ a b Chris Taylor (27 July 2024). "UFC 304 Bonus Report: Paddy Pimblett takes home $200k". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  47. ^ Nolan King and Ken Hathaway (17 September 2024). "Dana White confirms Tom Aspinall as UFC 309 main event backup fighter". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  48. ^ "I quit my job to teach my son MMA in our garden – now he's set for title fight". 10 November 2023.
  49. ^ Dushyant Patni (5 November 2023). "Tom Aspinall's Wife Justynagro Aspinall: Marriage, Kids and All We Know About the UFC Heavyweight and His Family". Essentially Sports. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  50. ^ Marc Gatford (18 October 2023). "Tom Aspinall - UFC heavyweight talks about his son being autistic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  51. ^ "Instagram".
  52. ^ Chatterjee, Anirban (23 July 2024). "What Is Tom Aspinall's Nickname? Story and Reason Behind the UFC Heavyweight's Famous Moniker?". EssentiallySports. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  53. ^ Martin, Damon (10 November 2023). "Tom Aspinall adapts 'honey badger' nickname, calls fear his 'super power' for Sergei Pavlovich". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  54. ^ a b "UFC Records - Heavyweights". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  55. ^ a b c d e f "UFC Records - All Fighters". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  56. ^ "Sherdog's 2023 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year". Sherdog. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  57. ^ "VMTV 2023 UK MMA Awards Show". Violent Money TV. 9 January 2024.
  58. ^ Sherdog.com. "Tom Aspinall MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
Achievements
Preceded by 7th UFC Heavyweight Interim Champion
11 November 2023 – present 		Incumbent
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