Tom Aspinall detailed how his severe knee injury was a blessing and a curse.
In July 2022, Aspinall’s life changed forever when he suffered a fight-ending knee injury against Curtis Blaydes. The 15-second loss began an extensive recovery process, officially ending on July 22 at UFC London.
Before his highly-anticipated Octagon return, Aspinall did an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. The 30-year-old heavyweight had this to say while reflecting on his injury:
“At that time, when I obviously blew the knee out and had surgery, it was the most depressing time of my life by far. I think now it’s really one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, seriously, because I’ve changed so much since then. I feel like it’s made me way mentally stronger. I feel a little bit battle-tested now.”
Aspinall’s momentum was halted when his knee gave out against Blaydes. Before suffering the injury, the Manchester native held a UFC record of 5-0, with two submissions and three KO/TKOs. Although he’s still ranked number five, Aspinall must make a statement against Marcin Tybura.
Tom Aspinall believes a violent knockout against Marcin Tybura would put him one win away from a title shot
The UFC heavyweight division currently features two primary title contenders – Stipe Miocic and Sergei Pavlovich. If Jon Jones retires after fighting Miocic on November 11, there could be a need for another title challenger in the near future.
Therefore, Tom Aspinall has a massive opportunity to put himself in the title shot mix with a win against Marcin Tybura. During the same interview with Brett Okamoto, Aspinall had this to say about his spot in the UFC heavyweight division:
“I think at heavyweight, it kinda has its own rules. If I’m gonna go in there against [Marcin] Tybura and lie on him for five rounds, it’s gonna be a boring fight. It’s probably not gonna move me up too much. If I go in there and knock him out with a violent knockout in thirty seconds, I think it bumps me up and everyone’s gonna be really excited about it, and then I’m probably just one fight away from a title shot.”
Before focusing on what’s next, Aspinall must get through Tybura in the upcoming UFC London main event. The 37-year-old Polish heavyweight is coming off back-to-back decision wins against Alexandr Romanov and Blagoy Ivanov. He now looks to continue climbing the rankings by taking out his English opponent on July 22.
