Tom Aspinall's coach erupts on UFC: ‘I can't think of a worse way' to announce him as champion

Yahoo

7 hours ago

After decades of training, which forced him to undergo 24 knee surgeries and two disc replacements along with a litany of other injuries, Andy Aspinall was understandably a bit underwhelmed when his and son Tom's odyssey to become heavyweight champion of the world ended with a phone call around midnight in England this past Saturday night.
'I found out from Tom,' Aspinall explained to Uncrowned.
Advertisement
'At the same time Tom was calling me to tell me that Hunter [Campbell] had told him, Hunter text me saying, 'Dana [White] has just announced that Tom is the champ' — which was the same message he had sent Tom.'
'I sent a message back to Hunter saying, 'I can't think of a worse way you could have done it'. I just think it's, I don't know if pathetic is the word — I just feel they didn't think about it. For me, the heavyweight championship of an organization is quite a big thing and I don't think Tom deserved to find out at a press conference in the middle of the night.'
'I can't think of a worse way to do it, maybe if they had've woke us up to tell us it would've been worse,' he added. 'We just happened to be awake at the time. It's poor man management of Jones and Tom. I like the personnel at the UFC, but for me, they just don't do things right sometimes. Of course it's a massively successful business, but I think something like that deserved more thought after everything we've been through with this.'
The rumor mill has been swirling with options for Aspinall's first title defense. Names like Alex Pereira and even PFL's Francis Ngannou have been floated as possibilities.
Advertisement
Looking at the situation logically, Andy Aspinall — the longtime head coach of Tom — agrees with the masses who believe Ciryl Gane is UFC's most likely avenue for the milestone bout.
'It's just another fight," he said. "If I think about it logically, Ngannou's under contract with somebody else so it's not going to be him. [Jailton] Almeida is ranked No. 6, he keeps saying he wants to fight, but it's probably not going to be him. [The heavyweights ranked] five, four, three and two — Tom's already fought and beat them.
'So it's probably going to be Ciryl Gane, who I feel doesn't really deserve to fight Tom because he hasn't beat a good grappler. He's been given two title fights and he's lost them both. I just don't know if he's the right person, but maybe he's the logical fight to make.'
Despite his son being crowned champion, Andy Aspinall won't forget the frustrating situations he's had to deal with over the past 19 months as a coach. From taking short-notice title fights to being forced to the sidelines as Jones' figured out his next move, the motivation of his fighter has been tested more than ever throughout the uncertainty.
Advertisement
'As soon as [Jones] got injured and said he needed a year off before he fought Stipe [Miocic], he should have stepped aside then,' said the elder Aspinall. 'It didn't happen, so we had to wait a year for him to fight Stipe, and that was a bit of farce because they both looked out of shape and slow. We had a meeting with Hunter and Dana after that and they said, 'You're next.' The only thing Tom said was that he didn't want to be Michael Chandlered and they assured him he wouldn't be. They said it would probably happen at International Fight Week. What played out then was a situation where we weren't kept in the loop about anything — all we were told is, 'We're going to get it done.''
'We've gone from fighting on two weeks' notice for an interim title to defending an interim title, which doesn't make sense at all. We took the fight in Manchester [at UFC 304] to avenge what happened against [Curtis] Blaydes and then they asked us to be backup fighter even though we all knew nobody would take the fight. We've never stopped training, but this period really tested Tom's motivation, and that's a worrying thing in this line of work where you're sparring massive men who are trying to take your head off. Not to mention the amount of paydays he's missed out on. That's the name of the game, he's a prizefighter. It's been a very frustrating time.'
Tom Aspinall spent the majority of the past two years watching and waiting for Jon Jones.
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
In his first statement as the undisputed heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall guaranteed that he would be an active champion. As far as his father is concerned, he is the best combat sports athlete on the planet, and if the UFC give him the schedule he is asking for, he will prove it to the watching world.
Advertisement
'He's 32 now, but if you look at his ring time it's been nothing. Every time he fights he's just knocking people over," he explained. "He's always been able to do that, he's always been a really good finisher. Speaking to his training partners over the last year has told me that he has only become better at that. He's kicking harder, he's hiding things more efficiently and he's physically improved leaps and bounds.
'I can see that he's better than ever, but as we always say with heavyweights, they are massive men wearing tiny gloves and one shot can put anyone out. Skill-wise, there is no one near him. If you took four different combat sports and you made everyone compete in each one for 15 minutes, it would prove that Tom is the best combat sports athlete on planet earth.'
And what if Jones suddenly becomes interested in the bout following the champion's first defense, as many predict he will?
'I wouldn't believe him,' replied Andy Aspinall.
Advertisement
'Here's the thing, if Tom fights Ciryl Gane, and it's a bit competitive, they go the distance and Tom wins, I think Jon will want the fight. But here's my question: If Tom is the champion, does that enable me as his manager to ask for $20 [million] or $30 million? Should I ask for a new contract where we get $35 million because time's moved on and everyone is getting paid a bit more? Should I hold out for massive money and then tell the UFC we want six months to prepare [like Jones]?
'We could just play a game with him the way he's been doing with us, having him sit there and not earn any money. Not allowing him to fight to prove he's a great fighter and just not allowing him to do what he wants him to do.
"Does that answer your question?'