Is Tom Aspinall the next great UFC heavyweight?

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

Last weekend at UFC Vegas 36, Tom Aspinall (11-2) took on Sergey Spivak (13-3) in the co-main event of the evening. Aspinall has been perfect since joining the UFC last year having started 3-0.

Back in February, he got a huge fight with former champion Andrei Arlovski. Aspinall passed that test with flying colors submitting Arlovski in the second round of their fight. Spivak was set to be another challenge for Aspinall.

Spivak was another top fifteen UFC heavyweight. It was the first time that Aspinall was taking on another ranked heavyweight and once again, the British heavyweight passed the test with flying colors.

While Spivak was set to challenge Aspinall, Aspinall ran right through him. Halfway through the opening round, Aspinall dropped Spivak and followed up with some brutal shots. Ultimately the referee called a stop to the action and Aspinall picked up his fourth straight UFC victory.

What’s next after UFC Vegas 36?

Tom Aspinall looks like he’s the full package. He has tremendous skills on the ground and his boxing is incredibly crisp. One of the things that makes him so dangerous on his feet is his work with boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

After UFC Vegas 36, many were wondering if Aspinall would be vaulted towards the top of the division. However, Aspinall wants to take things slow and admitted that he believes he’s not quite ready for the top guys at heavyweight.

After his win at UFC Vegas 36, Aspinall told the media, “I need a lot more experience before I fight those guys. I’m not ready for those guys yet. This doesn’t mean I’m not confident. This means I’m very confident in my ability, but I’m also confident that I need to be ready to beat these guys.”

Aspinall also pointed out the fact that he’s only 28 years old. The UFC has a star in the making with Aspinall and I think they should follow his ideal plan. A slow build would be the best thing for his career.

Aspinall actually mentioned a perfect opponent for him next. That opponent would be Blagoy Ivanov (18-4). Ivanov is a fellow top fifteen heavyweight who’s just known for being an insanely tough fight. This would be a great fight to test Aspinall.

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