After dominating at UFC London, what’s next for Tom Aspinall?

July 26, 2020; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Tom Aspinall (red gloves) of England punches Jake Collier (blue gloves) in their heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports

This past weekend at UFC London, the main event featured a battle of top heavyweights. England’s own Tom Aspinall (12-2) was looking to continue his surge towards the top as he took on the very tough veteran Alexander Volkov (34-10).

Many people, for obvious reasons, are very high on Tom Aspinall. However, this was going to be the fight where we really learned a lot about how good Tom Aspinall was. He came into UFC London 4-0 inside the octagon and he finished all four of those opponents.

Immediately when the fight started on Saturday, you could see Aspinall’s speed advantage on the feet. His hands looked loose and he landed some good shots on Volkov. However, the thing that makes Aspinall so good is how well-rounded he is.

Aspinall timed a takedown beautifully early on and got Volkov to the ground. Once the fight was there, he opened up Volkov with some brutal elbows. Volkov was able to get back to his feet, but Aspinall got him right back down. This time, he didn’t let him back up.

Aspinall was able to secure an arm-lock from side control and Volkov was forced to tap. A perfect ending for UFC fans who were rooting for their hometown guy.

What’s next after UFC London?

Make no mistake about it, Tom Aspinall is a serious contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division. After his win on Saturday, he’s only fighting top contenders from here on out. After the fight was over, he had a top contender on his mind and that top contender was Tai Tuivasa.

Personally, I love the idea of the UFC making a fight between Tuivasa and Aspinall. However, there’s another fight that also really interest me for Aspinall that would be a big fight for Europe. That fight would be pairing Aspinall up against former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane.

This could be a massive fight and Dana White already said the UFC is planning on coming to France in 2022. It would be huge for Europe to have a fight in Paris headlined by the two best European heavyweights on the roster. This is the direction I would go in depending on the timing.