Speaking to Prime Casino, UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall has declared that he will knockout rival Curtis Blaydes in ‘’absolutely horrendous’’ fashion at UFC 304 in Manchester on July 28th. He also hails UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Alex Pereira as an Inspiration and plans to give boxing a go in the latter stages of his career.
- Curtis Blaydes will suffer an ‘absolutely horrendous KO’
- Alex Pereira is ‘incredibly inspiring’ but ‘stick a pair of gloves on him’
- Why not give heavyweight boxing a go?
How do you see the fight playing out with Curtis Blaydes?
"It's heavyweight MMA and anything can happen, I feel like I always have to say that just to cover all aspects. However, I feel like this ends with an absolutely horrendous knockout and me being the winner.
"That's how I definitely see it going."
Are you still chasing a fight with Stipe Miocic or Jon Jones?
"It's still going, this is nothing new to me. This has been going on since I was an amateur. I have got to beat everybody, that is what I have to do. Do I think it is fair what is going on? Not really.
"But I am here to prove myself, I am not here to nitpick nobody. If I have to fight everybody, I will fight everybody because I love this sport more than anything in the world.
"There is nothing better to me than putting a pair of gloves on, getting in an arena with 30,000 people, standing across from another guy and not knowing who is going to come out the winner. There is nothing better to me in the world than that.
"So if I have to do that loads more times, bring it on. I'm more than happy with that."
One huge potential future fight is Alex Pereria, in general are you a fan of fighters moving between weight classes?
"I think as an elite athlete, you have to look at other elite athletes and really appreciate what they are doing. Regardless of whether or not I am going to fight Alex or not, and we don't know that right now, I am incredibly inspired by him.
"I think what he has done is great, in such a short space of time, and it is truly remarkable and I really respect what he has done. But I am a competitor and, as I have said, I absolutely love competing.
"Stick me in a cage, stick a pair of gloves on him, stick a pair of gloves on me and there's nowhere else in the world I would rather be. That's what I want to do, so I think it is pretty obvious that elite fighters like me and him love this stuff.
"So we all want to fight each other, but I think as an athlete and as a person, you just have to really respect him for what he has done because it is remarkable and it is amazing."
How has your mindset changed since becoming a champion?
"I don't feel like the hunted since becoming a champion, because people aren't screaming out to fight me. I just feel exactly the same as I did before, but if anything, there is even more motivation.
"I feel like I want to keep it, I've got the taste of it and I want to keep it going because I don't want to lose it any time soon. Also, it is MMA so you never know what is going to happen, but I have been doing everything possible to make sure I am in the best shape possible for this one."
Is there less pressure on you as the co-main event?
"I've just finished a sparring session and I still feel like today that I fight way better than I spar. I fight way better than I spar, because I am not scared in sparring because I feel like I have a rare ability where I am good with fear.
"I don't fight against it and I use it to fuel me, that's something elite athletes and, specifically, elite fighters do. Fighting is one of the scariest sports you can do, they don't try to fight the fear. They let it motivate them, and use it as fuel.
"That's something that, as I have reached the top level and I am around that level and the people of that level, I feel like that is something only the elite can do. They use that to help propel them to the next level.
"Not everyone can do it, I know that for sure. I have been in many, many changing rooms in my career and seen many scared people. I've seen a lot.
"How people fail to deal with it, they don't use it properly, and it can crush some people. I feel like I am one of the people who really, really knows how to use it well."
Who has inspired you from other sports, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James for their longevity?
"If you look at any elite athlete, and I am talking about the very top of the top, those kinds of people make the best decisions in the biggest pressure circumstances in the world - I'm talking split-second decisions.
"Really good decisions executed at a rapid pace and in the most high-pressure environment. You can go across all sports, but also all aspects of life and find that extremely successful people will all have that mentality. They make extremely good decisions under extreme pressure.
"I can't just look at one person and say that I am inspired by them, I look more at people in combat sports for that, but I think it is across the board. If you look at doctors and surgeons, those top-level professionals make life-changing decisions under immense pressure that people like you and I could not even imagine.
"I'm inspired by everybody like that, there is not just one person I could identify and point to being my main source of inspiration. Anybody who is successful, and elite at what they do, I am inspired by them."
With MMA careers being relatively short, does it make long-term planning more important?
"It's not something that has always been important to me, to be honest. Over the last couple of years, and as I have started to get a little bit older, I realise the people around you determine who you are.
"If there are people around you who are not in it for the right reasons, then it's not good. I am completely aware now that, even though I am not coming even close towards the end of my career, I am safe to say I am definitely in the second half of my career now.
"It is going to come to an end one day, and I firstly want to enjoy it. Second of all, I want to make as much money as I can while I am doing it. So I am trying to explore those two things.
"First and foremost, I want to enjoy my career because this is a really, really small window of my life. Like I said, I am in the second half of my career now, I don't know when I am going to finish because I am 31 now. Even though I could go on to 41 as a heavyweight, I am definitely in the second part and I want to enjoy it.
"Second of all, I have had a lot of fights where I have earned no money and I don't want to do that anymore. I want to earn as much money as I can, inside and outside of the Octagon. That is something else that I am working on."
Is it harder or easier to prepare for a rematch with Curtis Blaydes coming for your belt?
"The first one ended terribly, and it was terrible at the time, but it actually was the best thing that has ever happened to me in my career. This time, even with a few weeks of training left to go, I am waking up in the morning and I cannot wait to go to the gym.
"I've never been like that in a training camp, ever. I've got guys in to replicate Curtis Blaydes; International training partners, high-level wrestlers, and I am just preparing myself as much as I can physically and mentally.
"This is a big fight for me, mentally as well as physically. This is the only loss I have got in the UFC, and I lost it in a very unpleasant way because of the injury and then being unable to even train for the next year, or walk for the next few months.
"I don't want that to be the final chapter for me and Curtis Blaydes, I want to put this to bed once and for all and that's what I am looking to do. So I am very motivated for this one."
Are there any concerns that the time difference and the preparation could become a distraction?
"So the UFC have told me that I will be making my walk at about 4am, hoping for a 4.15am start to the fight. It's something that I have come to terms with now, we are dealing with it and moving forward with it.
"We are preparing for it and I will be good to go for it on July 28th. Simple as that, I will adjust my circumstances accordingly."
When you are done in MMA, could you see a future in Crossover boxing?
"Maybe one day, I am not going to count it out right now. At the minute, I have got some massive moves to make in the UFC.
"So if all goes to plan, why not? Right now, that is definitely not my focus."
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