Tom Aspinall believes he has become a victim of his own success.
During his rise to the UFC heavyweight championship, Aspinall (15–3 MMA, 8–1 UFC) developed a reputation as one of the division’s most dangerous finishers. Each of his last five victories inside the Octagon has come by way of first-round knockout, including his interim title win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.
However, after his first official defense of the undisputed heavyweight title ended in controversy at UFC 321 last October, sentiment among a portion of the UFC fanbase appeared to shift. Many fans accused the Brit of exaggerating the injuries he sustained after being poked in both eyes by Ciryl Gane, with some questioning whether Aspinall used the incident as a way out of a fight that had proven more competitive than his recent outings.
Despite the criticism, Aspinall has taken a measured and philosophical approach when addressing the reaction from fans.
“Mate, you know what I think (it is) a lot of the time?” Aspinall said in the latest video posted to his YouTube channel. “My success, my record that I've got, I'm finishing fights really quick. Like, if I don't finish the fight in the first minute, people think I'm f***ing shit. Yeah, people are like, 'Oh shit, he's not looking good today.'
“It's like, ‘well, no, we're just evenly matched and we're having a fight. I've not punched him properly yet.’ It's been pretty smooth sailing as far as fans with me and stuff, but the tide has turned. But I've got a lot of good stuff as well. It's not all bad. But you know what, mate? It's just thickened my skin up a little bit. And you've just got to see it for what it is.”
