Tom Aspinall, the well-known British UFC heavyweight may be one of the strongest contenders for Jon Jones’ title currently. Over the course of his UFC career, he has showcased multiple dominant performances inside the Octagon. Even in his last fight at UFC Fight Night 224, Tom Aspinall finished his rival, Marcin Tybura, in the very first round. He continued his scintillating display inside the Octagon with another dominant victory. Well, most may agree that Aspinall’s well-rounded game helps him a lot in achieving such feats.
This might also have a lot of fans wondering about the genres of martial arts he has trained in. Reports say that the 30-year-old had martial arts in his blood. His father was a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor who inspired Aspinall to take up martial arts early in his life. So apart from BJJ, he has also trained in other forms of martial arts. Quite interestingly, reports also suggest that he has a professional career in boxing, although it is unknown to most fans. So let’s dive deeper into Aspinall’s boxing career.
Tom Aspinall: A Jack of All Trades
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Headlines related to Aspinall’s boxing encircled the media in July this year. The British had agreed to help his WBC heavyweight champion countrymate, Tyson Fury, in his preparation for his coveted fight against the former UFC heavyweight champ, Francis Ngannou. The aforementioned Ngannou vs. Fury fight took place recently, and it presented an exceptional show for the audience.
However, during the time he was training with Fury, he appeared on a YouTube podcast named ‘JOE’ where he presented his take on boxing in detail. Despite presenting a few negative points, Aspinall said, “I love boxing, the sport of boxing”.
This is exactly where he also revealed, “Professional boxing? Yeah. I did it. I won a fight”. However, he didn’t talk about how he won his fight. ‘The Standard’ also mentions that Aspinall only had a single boxing match against a Hungarian boxer named Tamas Bajzath. Another source revealed that he won it via KO in the very first round.
So it seems like the British heavyweight does know how to throw a powerful combo and knock his opponents out, even inside a boxing ring. But the UFC heavyweight contender’s boxing skills probably won’t help him much in his next bout.
Tom Aspinall’s boxing skills won’t prove to be enough for this formidable striker
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Although the 30-year-old definitely has some wonderful power in his fists, most fans may rate him a bit lower than his upcoming rival in this department. UFC fans may already know that Aspinall is scheduled to face the noted Russian UFC heavyweight, Sergei Pavlovich, at UFC 295. Aspinall’s rival has a reputation for putting his opponents to sleep with his heavy blows. Pavlovich also boasts a remarkable record of achieving 83% of his wins by KOs or TKOs.
However, the UFC world has often witnessed how Pavlovich seems powerless on the ground. In such a situation, it will probably be favorable for Aspinall to use his strong ground game against the Russian. He needs to watch how the noted Dutch MMA star, Alistair Overeem, neutralized Pavlovich once he got him to the ground.
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Do you think Aspinall will be able to master ‘The Reem’s’ tactics to get the better of his Russian rival at UFC 295? What do you make of the UFC fighter’s boxing exploits? Let us know in the comments section below.
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