Thomas Aspinall, born 11th April, 1993 in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, and fighting out of Liverpool, is currently the no.11-ranked UFC heavyweight fighter.
Aspinall (now 28), fights out of Team Kaobon alongside fighters such as Mike Grundy and former title challenger, Darren Till, and is a part of the current new wave of UK talent looking to take over MMA. Aspinall holds notable wins over Sergey Spivak, Jake Collier and former UFC champion, Andrei Arlovski.
Aspinall’s fighting style is very well-balanced as he has an amateur and professional background in boxing and has sparred with the likes of heavyweight king Tyson Fury, which shows in his fights as he is very light on his feet and possesses excellent use of feints, especially for a giant of a man.
However, due to his high-level technical striking, this might lead people to think that he may be lacking in the grappling department. However, from a young age, Aspinall took to wrestling and jiu-jitsu and, as a proud holder of a BJJ blackbelt as well as being a British Open BJJ Champion, you can only expect he’ll showcase more of his grappling prowess.
This skill level in all areas shows what a danger Aspinall is on the feet and on the ground, which is the reason that within his 11-2 record, he has a 100% finish rate for his wins with 9 KO/TKO’s and 2 submissions.
Aspinall’s professional MMA career started in December 2014, against Michał Piszczek, where he would take him out in just 15 seconds notching his first professional MMA win.
Aspinall would go 3-0 before suffering his first career defeat to Stuart Austin via a heel hook submission. He would bounce back the fight after but would then, unfortunately, lose his sixth pro fight via (illegal downward elbow) DQ.
However, since then, Aspinall has put together a 7-fight win streak as he broke onto the Cage Warriors scene, with two, first-round stoppages earning him a shot at the UFC.
Aspinall would debut in the UFC against Jake Collier, and it would take just 45 seconds to get his first UFC win. It would take just a little bit longer in his next bout, taking 95 seconds to defeat Alan Baudot.
In his third UFC fight, Aspinall took on former champion and MMA legend, Andrei Arlovski who would be the first man in the organization to make it to the second round against Aspinall. However, Tom wouldn’t let it go much further as he ended the fight just over a minute into round 2.
In his most recent fight to date, Aspinall took out Sergey Spivak, taking him to 4-0 in the UFC to continue his 7-fight win streak; the question is, now who’s next and how long will it be before Aspinall breaks into the top 5 and eventually gets a title shot?
Okay, so now you have a brief background into Tom’s career, let’s take a look at Thomas Aspinall’s Top 5 MMA Finishes! (in descending order)
5. Vs. Michał Piszczek – MMA Versus UK (Dec. 13, 2014)
In his professional debut, Aspinall would explode onto the pro scene, taking just 15 seconds to stamp his authority.
In round 1, Piszczek immediately dives in for a takedown; however, Aspinall expertly defends and sprawls out, taking top position. Aspinall then takes side control and fires down heavy artillery causing Piszczek to tap out due to those strikes just 15 seconds into the contest.
This incredible debut foreshadowed the start to a promising career as one of the UK’s best MMA prospects. To add to the glory, Aspinall earned an extra $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
4. Vs. Alan Baudot – UFC FN 179 (Oct. 10, 2020)
After his 45 second KO debut in the UFC, Aspinall looked to build on his explosive UFC start and this he would do against Alan Baudot.
From the outset, Aspinall takes the center of the octagon and looks to dictate the pace and distance of the fight.
At a minute in, Aspinall lands a straight right, clinches Baudot against the cage, and quickly gets a double leg takedown.
Aspinall lands in top-mount, as the BJJ black belt looks to get to work as he rains down slicing elbows, Baudot tries to cover up, but the referee stops the fight at 1:35 of round 1.
It was just 95 seconds that Aspinall needed to put Baudot away, and move on to 2-0 in the UFC.
3. Vs. Sergey Spivak – UFC FN 191 (Sept. 4, 2021)
After a blistering, 3-0 start in the UFC, Aspinall took on no.13-ranked Sergey Spivak as he looked to move up the ranks and continue his unbeaten UFC streak.
To start, Aspinall, as always, took center control of the octagon and instantly forces Spivak to the fence as he pops shots from a distance.
Aspinall continues to be light on his feet, and continuously feints, trying to draw a reaction from Spivak, and at 2:15 in, Spivak tries to take down Aspinall but is unsuccessful.
Aspinall uses the clinch to prevent a takedown and fires thunderous knees to his opponent’s body before coming up top with a huge crushing elbow that drops Spivak to the canvas. Aspinall then quickly finishes the job at 2:30 of round 1.
Aspinall continued to impress as he took the UFC heavyweight division by storm, earning a consecutive $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus into the bargain.
2. Vs. Jake Collier – UFC on ESPN 14 (July 26, 2020)
Aspinall would get his start in the UFC and take just 45 seconds to make a statement.
In round 1, Collier comes out firing but just can’t find the elusive Aspinall and at 25 seconds in, it’s Aspinall who lands first and 20 seconds later, a straight left-right quickly finishes the job to cement the debut of the rising star.
A 45-SECOND WIN DEBUT: What a start to his UFC career!
1. Vs. Andrei Arlovski – UFC FN 185 (Feb. 20, 2021)
In his third UFC match, Aspinall would take on MMA legend and former UFC champion, Andrei Arlovski as he looked to make it three straight in the organisation.
In round 1, the highly technical Aspinall takes octagon control and starts to also control the fight.
At a minute in, he forces Arlovski up to the cage and begins to land heavy leg kicks on the former champ.
At 1:35, Aspinall lands a clattering right hand that wobbles Arlovski back to the cage, whereupon Aspinall begins to tee off on his head, and body before Arlovski desperately clinches to survive.
After a very dominant first round for Aspinall, Arlovski became the first and only man to date to make it through the first round with Aspinall in his UFC career.
In round 2, after a tapping leg kick from Arlovski, Aspinall blasts in for a double leg takedown, securing it against the cage.
Arlovski then turns to his back trying to get up, but almost instantaneously, Aspinall locks in the rear-naked choke submission and gets the tap in the blink of an eye at just 1:09 of round 2.
