UFC heavyweight reveals a severe injury has plagued his entire fighting career so far
UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall has revealed he's been carrying an unknown injury into multiple fights during his MMA career.
Aspinall is currently edging closer to his octagon return after suffering a freak knee injury in his main-event bout with Curtis Blaydes at UFC London in July last year. The bout was seen as the 29-year-old's biggest test in the octagon but was ruled a TKO loss after he collapsed to the floor holding his knee after just 15 seconds.
The injury was later revealed to be a torn MCL, a torn meniscus, and ACL damage, with a recovery period of a minimum of 9 months. Prior to the bout with Blaydes, the Manchester-born fighter was on a five-fight winning streak in the UFC, which included five finishes and four Performance of the Night bonuses.
In an interview with Jamal Diaz, Aspinall discussed his recovery and stated that the time off has also allowed him to heal another lingering injury aside from his knee. Tom Aspinall explained:
"I know people don't like to hear about [fighters] being injured going into a fight, I was injured going into 10 fights! That injury has been going on for ages, but I just feel so blessed that I can now do stuff that I've not been able to do. For my whole UFC career, I've not been able to do half the stuff I'm supposed to be doing...I think I'd been lying to myself about how bad my leg was...It feels amazing to be training with two legs."
Catch the interview here [2:00]
UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall reveales move down to light heavyweight could be fatal
In the same interview with Jamal Diaz, Tom Aspinall was asked about comments made by fellow Brit Darren Till, who suggested the Manchester-born heavyweight could be eying a move down to 205lbs.
Aspinall is currently recovering from a serious knee injury he sustained last year, but is expected to make his UFC return in the coming months. The No.6 ranked heavyweight has also been hoping he's thrown straight into the deep end and given another ranked opponent.
During the interview, 'Two Beers' addressed the rumors from Till and immediately laughed off the suggestion that he could fight at light heavyweight. Aspinall also revealed that cutting that much weight could be fatal:
"The weight limit is 93kg for light heavy and the doctors said If I go less than 102 kilos, my organs will start to shut down. I'm not an overly musclebound guy, I'm just a heavy guy. I'm 6'5, I'm 260lb, that's 170-180kg. I'm not losing f***ing 55lbs! No chance!"