Tom Aspinall
Tom Aspinall backtracks after Conor McGregor’s anger-fueled death threats
Former double-champion Conor McGregor has returned to action in the capacity of a coach and is already generating headlines. His coaching gig on “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” pitting Team McGregor against Michael Chandler’s team, has received a lot of attention. However, Tom Aspinall, a heavyweight contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, claimed that he is not excited about this. This irked a strong reaction out of ‘The Notorious’ who threatened to kill Aspinall.
Aspinall said he wasn’t too keen on McGregor rematching Chandler and instead preferred other fights on the card, such as the most recent installment of UFC London. McGregor was offended by what he had to say and fired off an angry tweet.
However, heavyweight contender Aspinall has issued an apology, suggesting that he never meant to disrespect McGregor’s return:
“Conor told me not to speak about him anymore so I’m going to respect that. “I am not going talk about him no more if that’s the case. I didn’t disrespect him in any way. I would never disrespect him or anybody, you know what I mean. You’ve met me plenty times and I’m not that kind of character. I wouldn’t disrespect anyone, especially someone like him who’s a massive pioneer of the sport.”
Ciryl Gane will compete against UFC legend Jon Jones for the vacant heavyweight title. “Bon Gamin” is a former interim champion who lost the opportunity to win the undisputed title in January to former champion Francis Ngannou, who recently left the UFC and vacated his title. Tom Aspinall, a surging contender in the division, recently offered his take on Jones’ move to the heavyweight division.
Tom Aspinall wonders if the physical attributes of Jon Jones will afford him the same advantages at heavyweight. Now that Jones is making his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4, Aspinall is uncertain whether he will be able to utilize his wrestling as effectively against the Frenchman, despite having a significant reach advantage.
“Jon Jones is an amazing wrestler,” Aspinall said in an interview with Jamal Niaz. “The massive advantage he has amongst the light heavyweights is he’s got a massive reach advantage. So he gets a lot of his takedowns with the length of his arms and the leverage that he gets behind his takedowns. I’m not discrediting his wrestling – his wrestling is amazing. But I’m saying the leverage he gets with his size advantage is incredible at light heavyweight, whereas at heavyweight, he’s an average size heavyweight.” [via/ MMA Junkie]
“He’s 6-(foot)-4, I think, so he’s pretty much average size, average height heavyweight, at least. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get the same leverage against someone his height. It’s yet to be seen. But Gane is a niche heavyweight. He’s not a standard heavyweight. Like, his footwork is really good. His judge of distance is really good.”
Gane’s speed, technique, and footwork are unparalleled among heavyweights, which has rendered all his opponents immobile. Although Jones is returning from a layoff of more than three years, Aspinall believes the promotion to a higher division could be a factor:
“I don’t think the inactivity would affect someone like Jon Jones because he’s had like 50 million title fights,” Aspinall said. “He’s had so much experience, a few years off won’t affect him. I think more (that will) affect him is carrying his own weight and carrying someone else’s weight who’s really mobile like Ciryl Gane. If Ciryl Gane was more of a plodding heavyweight, more of a flat-footed guy, he would have a lot of an easier time than he would someone like Ciryl.”
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