Aspinall is relishing headlining UFC London in chance of a lifetime

Tom Aspinall opens up on why UFC London headliner was impossible to turn down, the threat of Alexander Volkov and his comfort at being overlooked as ‘one of the most devastating punchers’

  • Tom Aspinall has the biggest fight of his career so far at UFC London headliner
  • He takes on No 5-ranked heavyweight Alexander Volkov at the 02 Arena  
  • Aspinall wanted to progress slowly but this was too big a chance to turn down 
  • Understated Brit says he is one of the most devastating heavyweight punchers

Tom Aspinall has not just been happy to fly under the radar, it was his gameplan from the start. 

But eventually, talent has won the race with patience and it was only a matter of time before an opportunity like this would come knocking. 

The 28-year-old wanted to plod his way up the rankings, taking his ascent step by step but on March 19 he will be thrust into the biggest fight of his life with a charged 02 Arena surrounding him at UFC London. 

Alexander Volkov, the No 5-ranked villain of the piece and aptly nicknamed ‘Drago’ is every inch the Rocky character and is a marked step up in class for Aspinall. 

Tom Aspinall will be headlining the UFC London show on March 19 against Alexander Volkov

Aspinall thinks he is overlooked as one of the most devastating punchers in the UFC

So was there any hesitation when the UFC came calling, throwing those plans to carefully manage his rise out of the window? 

‘I just got a text from my coach, I think I was just at home. I called up my Dad instantly to get his opinion on it,’ he revealed.  

‘Then me and my two coaches discussed it a little bit and decided obviously this is what we want to do.’

Even with the risk factor this fight offers, the bucket list factor was too hard to resist as the headliner on home turf.  

He added: ‘Yeah I mean that’s why I couldn’t say no to it. How many chances, how many opportunities do you get in this life, we have no idea, so you’ve got to take these opportunities when they come and it is going to be some epic night.’  

‘On every interview I’ve ever done, I’ve said I want to take it slow and all the rest of it, when you’re fighting guys with Volkov’s experience, you need to have decent experience yourself.’

The race between Aspinall’s patience and his talent has been won by the talent. 

He’s at a level now, even without the experience he craves, where there is no other option but to face the most dangerous men on the planet and sink or swim. 

‘The problem is, anybody outside the top 10 is not really going to give me any time in the octagon, as you can see from my other fights, I’m just, skill wise and fight IQ wise, I’m just levels above anybody outside the top 10’, he continued.

Alexander Volkov is Aspinall’s opponent and the Russian is ranked at No 5 in the division

‘Obviously Volkov was available so what else am I going to do? I’ve got to take the fight. I’ve been watching Volkov since he was Bellator champ so I wasn’t going to turn that down.’

So what of his opponent? Aspinall is thinking of little else. Volkov stands in the way of a win he can one day tell his grandchildren about. 

The Russian suffered defeat by Ciryl Gane last June but then bounced back with a win over Marcin Tybura four months later. 

‘Volkov is really tall isn’t he, he’s good at that!’ jokes Aspinall. ‘Good at being really tall and using his length, good kicker, he’s good everywhere, he’s had 50 fights, you’re not going to be s*** if you’ve had 50 pro fights. 

‘He’s been fighting at the top level since before I was even a pro. There’s nowhere you can look and say “he’s not good there”, I just need to be better than him.’

The British star knows how much experience Volkov has in comparison to him 

That’s not to say Aspinall is downplaying his chances. He is well aware of the tools at his disposal even if he won’t shout it from the rooftops. 

He went on: ‘I’m one of the most dangerous guys in the UFC, just because I don’t bang on about it all the time, it gets overlooked. But I’m alright with that, it doesn’t bother me at all. I’d rather people overlook me so they’re in for a shock.

‘I’m one of the most devastating punchers the heavyweight division has ever seen. People don’t talk about it a lot just because I don’t start bigging myself up.’

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VOLKOV vs. ASPINALL tickets go on sale from 10 a.m. GMT on Friday, February 4, via AXS and Ticketmaster.  

To stay up to date with the latest ticketing information, register your interest via UFC.com/London. 




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