Tom Aspinall recently offered his perspective on the legacy he wants to leave in MMA. Aspinall noted that he wants to be remembered as an entertaining fighter with a great fight IQ.
Aspinall joined the UFC in July 2020 after spending five years on the regional MMA circuit. The Brit demonstrated dominating performances right from the start, and aside from the TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes, he has defeated all of his other opponents.
Aspinall was made the new UFC heavyweight champion following Jon Jones' retirement earlier this year. Ahead of his first title defense, the Brit spoke about his legacy and that his fight IQ is something that goes heavily unnoticed.
Speaking at the UFC 321 Countdown video, Aspinall said:
"The legacy that I want to leave is that I was an entertaining fighter, that I had a really high fight IQ that I believe that I don't get any credit for just yet, and that I would fight anybody, and I've never turned a fight down in my life."
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (24:58):
Tom Aspinall will defend the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in the UFC 321 main event this weekend. Aspinall is coming off a win against Curtis Blaydes, while Gane last fought and defeated Alexander Volkov.
In a media scrum, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira shared his thoughts on the Aspinall vs. Gane fight.
"It's a tough fight, you know. Tom is a complete fighter, but I do feel like he's fought a lot of aggressive guys, and I think Gane is a guy who's gonna do a lot of moving, and he's gonna be a little more cautious, and that moving around might frustrate Tom. First, second, third round, maybe Tom can't find Ciryl Gane, I think it's gonna be a different fight."