As far as heavyweight prospects go in mixed martial arts, itâs tough to find someone as well-rounded as UFC star Tom Aspinall.
The 29-year-old burst onto the UFC scene less than two years ago and in that time heâs already been able to put together a 5-0 run with the MMA leader. All five of those wins came via finish and in the process, he broke the record for the quickest time taken to reach five victories in the promotion.
Thatâs no accident, either, as Aspinall appears to blend speed, precision and technical ability together better than 90% of fighters out there today.
His last success came against Alexander Volkov back in March and just four months on from that night, heâll be back at the O2 Arena for the sequel to springâs epic event in the English capital.
When speaking exclusively to GiveMeSport.com, the pride of Manchester noted how happy he is to be getting back in there so quickly.
âI like a quick turnaround. Even though I had a short fight last time I was already fit going into camp which was very nice.â
âIâve not just sat on the couch from my last fight to now. Iâve still been training every day. Iâm the type of person, I canât spend too long out, Iâm obsessed with training. Iâm in the gym non-stop and Iâm feeling fresh and ready to go.â
âIâm just like, OCD. If Iâm missing one day of training, I canât rest! Iâm non-stop.â
The toughest test yet
If Aspinall is going to take another giant leap towards the title, heâll have to go through Curtis Blaydes.
âRazorâ has only lost to Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis in his pro career and when asked about guarding against complacency, Tom noted that heâs well aware of what heâs facing on July 23.
âIâm fighting one of the most dangerous men in the world. I canât just sit down and think Iâm a superstar now that Iâve got a big win. Now Iâm fighting one of the top five guys in the world, so I ainât gonna get complacent on that.â
The Kaobon sensation also didnât appear too concerned with Blaydesâ past comments regarding Europeans not being as effective with their wrestling.
âI think itâs a good job weâre not having a wrestling match then, weâre having an MMA fight. So, thatâs fine. If he doesnât think weâre good at wrestling thatâs alright, weâre not wrestling. Weâre doing MMA.â
That special night in March will be hard to top but if anyone believes itâs possible, itâs the #6 ranked heavyweight on the planet.
âI think that [Marchâs card] was just a taster of whatâs to come, to be honest. I think the next one is gonna be even more wild. It could potentially be one of the wildest UFC cards ever, with the crowd and stuff. Everyone now knows what to expect and weâve set the bar pretty high, and I think weâre gonna surpass it next time, I think.â