"He is better than Ciryl Gane on the ground" - Josh Thomson and John McCarthy preview Tom Aspinall vs. Alexander Volkov at UFC London

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Tom Aspinall (left), Alexander Volkov (right.) [Image credit: UFC.com]

As his first UFC headliner edges closer, Tom Aspinall has received a lot of praise from Josh Thomson and John McCarthy for his well-rounded game and ability to win anywhere the fight takes place.

The 13-fight MMA veteran has finished all four of his UFC opponents since joining the promotion and he looks like a real contender to the heavyweight throne. While he is still young, octagon time seems to be the one thing missing from the Englishman's game.

During a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson gave props to Tom Aspinall and compared him to former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, saying:

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"I know he looks like Frank Mir, he doesn't really fight like Frank Mir. But he is good on the ground, he's got better wrestling than Frank Mir, he's got a little bit better standup than Frank Mir. But he's good, he's a good fighter all the way around, he moves like a young Frank Mir though on the ground."

Continuing with his assessment, Thomson revealed he sees similarities between the Brit and Ciryl Gane, believing the 28-year-old to be more adept than the Frenchman on the ground.

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"I compare him a little bit to Ciryl Gane, but he's better than Ciryl Gane on the ground... Not on the feet, he's a little bit more well-rounded though."

Gane is known for his speed and movement on the feet and a lot of what Tom Aspinall excels at resembles the 31-year-old's style. A win in his next outing could see the Team Kaobon representative spearhead his way closer to the top five in search of big name opponents.

Check out the full episode below:

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How far can Tom Aspinall go?

As we've seen so far throughout his career in the sport, Aspinall is exceptional at setting traps, pressure-fighting and using heavy strikes to knock his opponents out.

Alongside his power, the former professional boxer is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt and has excellent grappling, though he hasn't had to rely on it too much inside the octagon to date.

If he manages to bypass Alexander Volkov this weekend, the rest of the heavyweight division has a real problem on their hands.

With one more win following UFC London, we could see Tom Aspinall scheduled to headline another event, this time contending for the title.

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