Tom Aspinall made a splash at UFC Vegas 36.
Aspinall earned arguably his most impressive win so far after a first-round TKO win over Sergey Spivak on Saturday night following a beautiful knee and elbow combination.
It meant Aspinall enjoyed another quick win as he is yet to make it to a third round, having barely fought in the second round throughout his career as well. He also maintained his 100% finishing record.
It also meant another Performance of the Night bonus — with the extra $50,000 bringing himself to tears.
“I am [aware of the bonus] and I just cried and I think it’s on camera,” Aspinall said in the post-fight press conference. “So get the views up on that and make sure you share it.
“Honestly, for anyone who doesn’t know, I’ve got a missus and three small kids. I’m just trying to buy a house, man. I’m just a normal guy. I’m just trying to get by in this world and look after my children and my family. I need that money just as much as everyone else. Man, it’s like a dream. I appreciate it so much.”
Aspinall Wants Gradual Rise Up
Aspinall didn’t want to call out any names as he prefers fighting each person ranked above him one by one rather than leapfrogging a contender.
That could potentially mean a meeting with Blagoy Ivanov next — and Aspinall is more than willing to fight him.
“Do you know what? I would love to fight Blagoy Ivanov,” Aspinall told BT Sport. “He does test you. He’s really durable, he’s really, really experienced and that’s what I need.
“I need someone who can push me a little bit and take me to three rounds, I wanna do three rounds.”
Ivanov is currently on a two-fight losing streak following back-to-back split decision defeats to Derrick Lewis and Augusto Sakai.
You can watch the full interview below:
