Thomas Paul Aspinall (born 11 April 1993) is an English professional mixed martial artist.
He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion.
As of 6 February 2024, he is #12 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Aspinall followed his father's footsteps by beginning to train martial arts at the age of seven at the Leigh Self Defence Studio in Wigan, Greater Manchester, where he trained in JuJitsu.
After being trained in wrestling and boxing, Aspinall transitioned to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
He has won the British Open in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in all belt classes except black belt.
After his father became the jiu-jitsu instructor of Team Kaobon, Aspinall grew interested in mixed martial arts and transitioned into the sport.
In the year after completing school at age 16, Aspinall grew from 5 ft to 6 ft, causing intense growing pains.
Aspinall signed a five-fight contract with Cage Warriors after a 2.5-year hiatus from professional mixed martial arts.
Aspinall was offered a contract by the Ultimate Fighting Championship also, but did not feel ready for the organisation and subsequently turned it down.
After two fast finishes in Cage Warriors he eventually signed to the UFC.
2020
Aspinall was originally scheduled to make his promotional debut against Raphael Pessoa at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards on 21 March 2020.
However, Pessoa withdrew from the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Jake Collier, but this event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subsequently, the pairing was left intact and took place on 25 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14.
He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.
This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Aspinall's second UFC appearance was expected to be against Serghei Spivac at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen on 11 October 2020.
However, Spivak withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Alan Baudot.
Aspinall won the fight via first-round technical knockout.
Aspinall next faced Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on 20 February 2021.
He won the fight via a submission in round two.
This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Aspinall was expected to face Sergei Pavlovich on 4 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191.
However, Pavlovich was removed from the card in late-August due to alleged visa issues which restricted his ability to travel and was replaced by Serghei Spivac.
Aspinall won the fight via technical knockout in round one.
The win earned Aspinall his third Performance of the Night bonus award.
Aspinall was scheduled to face Shamil Abdurakhimov on 19 March 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204.
However, on 21 January 2022, it was announced that Aspinall would instead face Alexander Volkov.
Aspinall won the fight via straight armbar submission in round one.
With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award.
Aspinall faced Curtis Blaydes on 23 July 2022, at UFC Fight Night 208.
He lost the fight by technical knockout 15 seconds into the first round after being rendered unable to continue due to a knee injury.
After a year off due to his injury, Aspinall returned to face Marcin Tybura on 22 July 2023, at UFC Fight Night 224.
He won the fight via TKO just over a minute into the first round.
With this win, he received his fifth Performance of the Night bonus award.
On two weeks' notice, Aspinall faced Sergei Pavlovich for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship on 11 November 2023, at UFC 295 due to Jon Jones becoming injured and his fight against Stipe Miocic being cancelled.
He won by first-round knockout in a little over a minute and the victory earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Aspinall is married with two sons and one daughter with one of his sons being diagnosed with autism.
