Issue 221
October 2025
Finally! After what has got to feel like an eternity for an athlete in their prime, Tom Aspinall will once again make the walk to the Octagon. It’s a championship clash that brings an end to a hiatus for the British standout who claimed the interim heavyweight title in 2023, defended it last summer, and has been patiently waiting for a chance to show he’s the best in the division ever since. Ahead of his return to action, Fighters Only caught up with Aspinall to look back on the last 15 months, look ahead to this month’s return to action, and understand what truly motivates the UFC heavyweight champion.
AN INTERESTING TIME NOW RESTS IN THE PAST
“Interesting. Interesting to say the least.”
That’s how Aspinall summed up the 14 months since he defended the interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes.
“D’you know what?” pauses Aspinall. “It was a pain at the time. I kept getting a little bit of false hope from the UFC, but I don’t think it was the UFC’s fault. I think it was more the other guy’s fault. Telling the UFC that it’s gonna happen and the UFC believing him and stuff.”
The other guy, of course, is Jon Jones. A superstar who single-handedly kept the heavyweight division in a stasis. When Jones beat Miocic at UFC 309, a matchup between the two titleholders felt inevitable. Except it wasn’t. Jones did the “Will I? Won’t I?” dance for months, then Dana White announced that Jones was retiring and that Aspinall would be promoted to undisputed champion, marking the second time this had happened at heavyweight and the fifth time it had occurred in UFC history.
“It wasn’t like I was sat on the couch for 14 months or whatever it’s been, I’ve been in the gym,” said Aspinall, making sure to clarify that he’s taken advantage of his time outside of competition. “I’ve constantly been training. Constantly had teammates fighting and been helping them with their camps, so I’ve made some massive improvements, and I think that sometimes, when you are going back-to-back with the camps and stuff, the improvements are a little bit harder to make because you’re only training for one guy. We never had a solid date set. We were always guessing. It might be July. It might be September. So I was always on the mats training and learning, improving, so I feel good about things, and I’m healthy. It was frustrating, but it’s all in the past now, and I’m happy to just move forward.”
COMPETITION, NOT A SPECIFIC OPPONENT
Throughout the entire time that Aspinall and Jones circled each other, there was talk about who needed the matchup more for their legacy. None of that mattered to Aspinall.
“I was never fixated on Jon Jones. My obsession since the time I laced up my first pair of gloves has been to be the UFC heavyweight champion. That’s been my goal, always, so whether it be Jon or someone else, that bit wasn’t really important. The important thing was to be No. 1 in the world. The thing with me is, and I can’t speak for the other fighters, obviously, but I just actually love the act of competing. That’s what I love doing and what I got into the sport for,” continued the 32-year-old champion, who has 8-1 in his nine UFC appearances to date, earning first-round finishes in all but one contest (which he finished 69 seconds into the second round) and whose lone setback came by way of injury, and he’s since avenged. “What I love is the process of turning up to fight week, not knowing what’s going to happen, having an opponent to train for, the whole emotions that you go through. That’s the bit that I really, really enjoy, and the reason that I train is for that. Without that, I feel a little bit lost, to be honest. So it didn’t matter who I was fighting. I didn’t get any options, and I didn’t want any options. I’m just happy to fight.”
UNCONCERNED WITH THE CHATTER
These situations are catnip for journalists, content creators, and fans. Since Aspinall and Jones never touched gloves, there’s a debate about what may have happened. But how does the competition-focused fighter feel about this fight with Gane and whether it’s a chance to provide an answer to the myriad unanswerable questions tethered to his standing atop the division?
“I guess for the media it does,” he said quickly with a hint of slyness when asked if this fight feels like a chance to cement his bona fides as the best heavyweight on the planet. “For the guys on the outside, it does, but I’m just taking it as another fight. I’m very serious about it. I’m training very, very hard. I’m very tired from the training, but I feel good. I feel satisfied with the work. I’m never quite satisfied, but I feel happy with the work that I’m putting in leading up to the next one. Each fight camp, I get better, and I improve. I would say I’m just before my prime at the moment. I’m doing things in the gym that I’ve never been able to do before, and I’m really happy with the way it’s going.”
For Aspinall, it has always been and will always be about proving he’s the best by taking on the strongest opponents available, and now that he’s finally set to return, he’s happy to focus on the present.
“I’m happy to look forward. In five years’ time, it’s all gonna be a distant memory. It’s all gonna be pretty irrelevant, so I’m happy we’re moving on.”
A LONG TIME COMING
This matchup with Gane has felt inevitable for some time, even before Jones exited. The French standout burst onto the scene with a series of impressive finishes to establish himself as the top emerging talent in the division. Then, a year later, Aspinall arrived and started following the same path. For a time, it felt like they would meet on the way up. After Aspinall bested Blaydes, and Jones’ post-Miocic future was undetermined, many wondered if they would share the Octagon. Instead, the two never crossed paths, creating the opportunity for them in Abu Dhabi with the heavyweight title hanging in the balance.
“This fight has been on the horizon for five years now,” Aspinall said with a chuckle. “There was talk of me and Ciryl fighting since I made my debut. He was in a couple of fights before me, and he was doing well, and then I started doing well myself, and it never ended up happening. So it’s exciting that it’s happening at this later stage. I think this is good because the other guys, I’ve beaten them already. This is good. New opponent. New challenge, and like I said, it’s been building for a long time. He’s someone that has been on my mind for a long time. I’m excited for it. I think he’s really unique for a heavyweight. He moves really well. He’s got great footwork. He kicks really well. He’s not like a normal heavyweight, so he brings a whole new set of challenges that I have not faced before. That being said, I think it’s the same the other way ‘round as well, so I think it’s gonna be interesting.”
LEAVE ALL THAT FOR FUTURE TOM
A year went by, where the top of the heavyweight division felt stale. Jones’ title win felt like a new era, only for things to drag on and then fizzle out after one title defense that went precisely how everyone predicted. Now with Aspinall at the helm, there is renewed excitement. Perhaps the British champion could be the man to carry the division forward, providing some stability and activity from the lead as new hopefuls try to work their way into contention. So what does Aspinall think of all of that?
“I try not to look too far forward in the future because you just never know. You never know what’s gonna happen. I just try and take it day by day, and right now, I’m really enjoying it. For right now, I’ve gotta fight the next guy, and as the champion, I always want to fight the No. 1 contender, and Ciryl Gane is the No. 1 contender. He’s someone that I’ve not fought in the Top 10.”
When some folks say they are unconcerned with legacy, you can tell it’s a case of them saying what they think they’re supposed to say to sound like they’re explicitly focused on the task at hand. However, with Aspinall, it’s completely authentic. You can tell by the way he addresses questions about what his success and accomplishments mean to him on a personal level, as an example for his kids, and for the larger U.K. population, which follows his exploits and views him as a role model.
“You don’t have to be from any kind of special background to do special things, in any field, not just in fighting,” he began. “If you get your mind set on something, become obsessed with it, and put the work in. You can do special things. I really believe in that. I’m living proof that it can happen. I’m not anybody special. I’ve never claimed to be anybody special. I’m just a regular guy who’s outlasted and outworked everybody else, and that’s why I am where I am. I saw a quote recently that said it takes 20 years to become an overnight success or whatever, and it couldn’t be more true. I have made plenty sacrifices in all fields of my life and believed in myself when not a lot of people believed in me as well. I’m happy. I’m happy that I stuck with it and I am where I am, but I’m far from finished. I’ve got a lot more to do yet, so again, I’ll think about it a bit more when I retire, for sure, but for right now, I’m gonna beat Ciryl Gane and that’s all I really care about in the present moment.”
