TOM ASPINALL will rock the O2 Arena tonight, his second appearance in as many months. But his life would have been so much different if he had walked away from MMA.
Tonight's UFC London showdown will feature the Atherton Assassin against Curtis Blaydes, a divisional standout.
Tom Aspinall will rock the O2 Arena again for the second consecutive time in just four months
The Atherton Assassin has been on a tear at the octagon
Tom Aspinall started his journey in martial arts at 6 years old.
Andy, Dad Andy was instrumental in getting Tom started with grappling and then MMA.
He struggled to fight when he was climbing through the ranks.
After debuting in promotion, Aspinall is on the brink of competing for the UFC heavyweight title.
Although he signed with MMA's largest league in September 2019, the coronavirus pandemic meant that he would have to wait until July to make his debut, the father of three had to sign with the league.
He hasn't looked back since he made his octagon bow at Fight Island, where he brutalized Jake Collier in just 45 seconds to win a PS36,000 Performance Of The Night bonus.
29-year-old Aspinall has broken all records in five octagon fights that have seen him rise up the heavyweight ranks.
The journey of Team Kaobon's star to the UFC, which started in his backyard shed at six years old with Andy, was not an easy one. There were financial difficulties that were constant.
According to him, "MMA in the UK, particularly as a heavyweight, is almost impossible to make a living out of. I was broke and needed to support my family.
"Some days, I would only have literally 20 dollars [to my name]"
Aspinall's inactivity during his early career, which was often due to opponents withdrawing at the last moment, not only denied him the chance to improve himself but also cost him the money he needed to feed his family.
He recalled that it was very difficult to be a heavyweight MMA fighter here in the UK.
"I had three small children and never had a fight in 2 years. Because opponents kept pulling out, I had to have 3 fights.
"There aren't many active heavyweights so it's hard to get fights. People want to keep their records. It was just difficult."
Aspinall's frustration at not being able get a fight - and his need for money - nearly drove him to quit MMA.
He stated, "I had a baby and then we discovered that we were having twins."
"I was not getting regular fights, and people were like, "What are you going do?" What are you going do to support your family?
"I was training every day, but the fights weren't coming through. That was my most difficult time in my career.
His dad and mum, who were more than happy to loan him a few dollars to help pay the bills, convinced him to not pack it all.
Aspinall nearly quit MMA to make a regular income for his three children.
Aspinall rose through the ranks both as an amateur and in his early professional career.
Aspinall's breakthrough came in Cage Warriors, where he fought two times. This was what propelled him to UFC.
Andy said to the BBC that he and his mom sat down with him and lent him money. There was much arguing and crying.
"[And we said to him] 'Please give it a try and see how you get out.
"I believed Tom could reach the top. We went through a heartfelt "You've got this!" exchange. Eventually, he turned his back and returned.
Andy was relieved to see his son succeed. He believed wholeheartedly that he could win the race and still looks back fondly on their training.
Andy said in an interview with UFC: "Tom began to grapple when was six or seven years old. He began to enjoy it when he was ten or eleven years old.
"And because I was teaching Jiu-jitsu he was there every day.
He did all the traditional sports, including boxing, jiujitsu and wrestling. Then I met Colin Heron, Kaobon, and it was just there.
Aspinall would finally get the consistency he craved in 2016, in Full Contact Contender, with three fights in three months.
Tom Aspinall holds the record for UFC history's fastest five wins combined.
Tom Aspinall will try to win six consecutive victories against Curtis Blaydes
Aspinall is on the verge of winning heavyweight gold with a sixth win on the bounce
However, his inactivity would soon become a problem as he ended up TWO AND-A-HALF YEARS without fighting. He did however end up competing in Europe’s top promotion.
Aspinall's longest hiatus was ended with back-to-back TKO wins at Cage Warriors 101 & 107. This resulted in Aspinall being called by the UFC.
He's been growing stronger since reaching the promised land of MMA - stopping Collier and Alan Baudot and submitting former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski, Alexander Volkov.
Aspinall is far from his past self, but he's still within reach of the UFC heavyweight title.
He could win a title eliminator fight with a solid win over Blaydes tonight, but he refuses to consider anything other than raising his hand.
He stated, "I will accept it as it is." The same way that I treat everything else.
"You cannot guarantee the future. It's impossible to predict what will happen.
"I will cross the bridge when I get there.
"But until then I'm fighting Curtis Saturday and that's all my concern.
"So please, no one else will ask me about fights. I don't care about any other fights." This fight is all I am interested in."
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