Tom Aspinall doesn’t think he will be able to return at UFC 286 in London but isn’t shutting the door.
Back in July, Aspinall headlined UFC London against Curtis Blaydes in a potential title eliminator bout. It was a highly-anticipated fight, but just moments into the fight, Aspinall went down in pain and grabbed his knee and it was later revealed he tore his ACL and needed surgery.
Although it hasn’t been a full year since his injury, Tom Aspinall is getting better and says he could even return at UFC 286 in London.
Tom Aspinall on His Return
“My ego wants to go ‘stick me on the card I’m good to go’ but I need to think long term which I’ve not been doing and need to get everything right,” Aspinall said to OLBG. “I’m not ruling it out (fighting at UFC London). At the minute it’s still like 14-15 weeks away. And at this point, I’ve not done much heavy training. It’s just been rehab really. But can I get ready in 14 weeks? The answer is yes. Will I be ready to start a title run in 14 weeks, I don’t know. And if I don’t know – that’s not the answer I’m looking for. It’s highly unlikely but not a complete no at this point.
“I can’t afford for that [the injury] to happen again. I’m not talking about finances, I’m talking about my ego. My ego can’t take that again. Me on my back, clutching onto my knee – it’s just not going to happen again. There’s just no chance I can let that happen again,” Aspinall continued. “The knee has to be one million percent. My ego wants to go ‘stick me on the card I’m good to go’ but I need to think long term which I’ve not been doing and need to get everything right.”
“My dad doesn’t want me on the card, it’s as simple as that, my dad says don’t be on the card. I should listen to him more. I’m not kicking just yet, but I’ve been doing a bit of sparring and stuff. I can full-on wrestle now which is great. I literally started that this week. I’m looking to get signed off by the physio in 8-12 weeks, he reckons, completely signed off and back to full-on training, I’m really happy with it all.”
As of right now, Tom Aspinall is still waiting to get cleared but is hoping to return very soon.
Tom Aspinall is currently 12-3 as a pro and before the loss to Blaydes – due to the injury – was on an eight-fight winning streak and was 5-0 in the UFC.
