British UFC contender Tom Aspinall will return to the Octagon this weekend looking to claim heavyweight gold and cap a brilliant return from a sickening knee injury.
Aspinall has made a remarkable comeback to the title scene as he gears up to face contender Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295.
The Salford-born star stepped into the card in New York at Madison Square Garden after heavyweight champion Jon Jones suffered an injury ahead of his bout with Stipe Miocic.
And ironically it was a horror injury of his own that Aspinall suffered last year that threatened to curtail his path to a title shot in 2023.
He squared off against Curtis Blaydes in the main event of the UFC's UK event last year in a fight that was expected to have title ramifications, but things went badly wrong.
After an innocuous early exchange, Aspinall dropped to the floor in agony after suffering an apparent knee injury.
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Veteran referee Herb Dean immediately stepped in and waved off the fight just 15 seconds after it began, disappointing the thousands of fans in attendance who had hoped to see the Englishman pick up his sixth UFC win.
“Morning everybody, today is surgery day. I’m in London right now and I’m absolutely starving because I can’t eat before surgery,” Aspinall said in a video posted to his Twitter account.
“I have suffered a torn MCL, a torn meniscus, and some ACL damage.
“So, gonna get that fixed today but just a quick message to say thank you for the support. I really appreciate it. I’ve had so much love since the accident.”
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The 6ft 5in Brit was riding high heading into UFC London after picking up five stoppage wins since joining the promotion in 2020.
In March 2022, he submitted Alexander Volkov inside one round before going on a two-day drinking bender to celebrate but four months later Aspinall was drowning his sorrows after suffering his first UFC loss.
In a beautiful moment of sportsmanship, Blaydes went to visit his stricken opponent post-fight and the two men shared a beer which apparently softened what was a massive blow for the man from Atherton.
Exactly one year later, the 30-year-old returned to the scene of the crime and exercised his demons by quickly knocking out perennial contender Marcin Tybura.
Aspinall appeared to need at least one more win before he was considered a title contender again.
But this time an unfortunate injury has presented him with an amazing opportunity rather than taking it away.
Aspinall could become just the third British fighter to win a UFC title, following in the footsteps of MMA legend Michael Bisping and current welterweight king Leon Edwards.
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