UFC interim champion Tom Aspinall, according to former champ Michael Bisping, will become the greatest heavyweight in the history of the sport. Good at basically everything – grappling, wrestling, striking – the Englishman has the skillset and abilities that have led the likes of Joe Rogan to declare him the next evolution of the sport.

Having defeated knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in spectacular fashion to become the interim heavyweight champion, Aspinall looks well on his way to being a force to be reckoned with going forward. Especially integral to his already-illustrious martial arts journey are his wife and three kids, with the latter even playing their part in helping ‘Honey Badger’ win his first UFC title.

Tom Aspinall’s kids: Who is the mother?

‘Honey Badger’ is married to Justynagro Aspinall, who is reportedly of Polish descent. Aspinall, who seemingly likes to keep his personal life private, has not spoken much about how he met his wife and fell in love with her. It also cannot be said for certain how long the couple has been married, but it seems at least seven years since that is how old their oldest son is.

Aspinall has three children with his wife, all three boys. Along with his seven-year-old, the interim champ is father to beautiful twins who are four years old. And while Aspinall has always maintained that his family is the thing that matters most in his life, fatherhood hasn’t been easy on him.

Tom Aspinall reveals the struggles of his autistic child

Tom Aspinall’s oldest son is autistic. The interim champ noticed that the boy wouldn’t respond to his name being called or when he was being talked to. Alarmed at these symptoms, the UFC champ initially chalked it down to his son not being socialized enough because of the Covid lockdown. However, watching a documentary on British TV personalities McGuinness’ three autistic children made him realize his son may be autistic. His fears were proven true after he got a diagnosis for his son, where he was indeed diagnosed with autism.

“One of my children has Autism. And my child’s only just turned four so, I’m in the infancies of understanding Autism. It can go from someone not being able to explain their feelings properly, to someone not being able to walk and talk ever,” he said in an interview with True Geordie three years ago.

Since he said these words, the interim champ has come a long way and understands the condition much better. To do his part, he has been doing his best to raise awareness about the neurological disorder. One of the most challenging aspects of raising a child with autism has been his inability to understand what is socially acceptable, which leads to dirty looks from other parents who aren’t aware of their son’s neurodivergence. This is why he is so determined to raise awareness about autism among as many people as he can.

“My kid doesn’t understand making a mess and what’s right and wrong, so he might get in a supermarket and start pulling stuff off the shelves. That’s hard as a parent because you sometimes have people looking at you and you know they’re thinking, ‘will you sort your kid out?’ If people were more aware, it would be a little bit easier,” Aspinall was quoted as saying by the BBC last year.

It seems his seven-year-old has come a long way since he now comes to his parents when called and even gives his father fighting tips.

Aspinall got the game plan to defeat Sergei Pavlovich from his son

In the post-fight interview after defeating Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November 2023, Aspinall revealed that his oldest, seven-year-old son was beginning to figure things out and was becoming aware of his dad’s fighting career. As his son went by the rankings, and the Russian was ranked #1 in the division to Aspinall’s fourth rank before UFC 295, his son had warned him that the Pavlovich fight would be a “tough one” and that he should “be careful.”

So worried was the seven-year-old for his father that he even gave Aspinall a gameplan on how he should deal with the Russian, even insisting he “write it down” so he doesn’t forget it. While Aspinall may not have needed his son’s tips to defeat the Russian, it does show that autistic children can be high-functioning if given the proper help and resources.