Tom Aspinall sat in the locker room in the hours before a UFC title fight that came together in a matter of weeks and really only had one thought: “What am I doing?”
Aspinall pulled a muscle in his back and did not have much of a training camp. The Englishman in New York — he walked out to the Sting hit song — had visa issues. He even had to cancel a planned vacation with his family.
So what was Aspinall doing? Winning a championship in only his eighth UFC fight.
Photo: AFP
Alex Pereira on Saturday night used a series of elbows to Jiri Prochazka’s head to win the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship, while Aspinall became the first British heavyweight to win gold in the UFC 295 title fights at Madison Square Garden.
“The UK guy is the world champion,” Aspinall said. “I’m the best in the world now.”
Well, Jon Jones might have a beef with that decree.
Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round for the interim heavyweight championship in front of a packed crowd that included former US president Donald Trump. Aspinall then campaigned for a championship fight in England against Jones.
“Give me my dream fight,” Aspinall said. “Let me fight for my legacy, please.”
The interim title fight was a late addition to the card after Jones tore a pectoral tendon off the bone during training late last month. He needed surgery and his heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic at the Garden was called off.
While UFC waits for Jones to return, it is Aspinall who now holds the gold.
“It’s been a crazy two-and-a-half weeks,” Aspinall said.
Jones congratulated Aspinall on social media, calling it “an awesome performance.”
His teary celebration lasted longer than the fight. Aspinall needed only 69 seconds to earn his 11th career knockout win — he has made it to the second round just once in his eight UFC fights — and then collapsed in tears on the canvas. Aspinall landed consecutive rights to Pavlovich’s temple that sent the Russian crashing to the canvas.
“He’s a big, scary guy,” Aspinall said. “I’ve never been as scared in my life as fighting this guy, but I’ve got a lot of power, too, and I believe in myself.”
Aspinall draped himself against the cage as fans roared for the new champ.
Not much later in the main event, Pereira won his second UFC championship in just his seventh fight for the promotion. Pereira, who won the middleweight championship in November last year at Madison Square Garden, badly hurt Prochazka and the fight was stopped four minutes into the second round. Prochazka had won 13 straight MMA fights, including his first three in UFC.
Pereira became the ninth fighter in UFC history to win championships in two weight classes.
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