Tom Aspinall: British heavyweight refuses to rule out UFC London fight as injury rehab continues

UFC 286 will take place in March at the O2 Arena, where Aspinall injured his knee last July

Tom Aspinall has refused to rule out a return to the ring at UFC London in March, though the Briton has admitted that it might not be the most sensible move.

Heading into UFC London last July, Aspinall was 5-0 in the UFC, having won all of those bouts with first and second-round finishes. The Wigan heavyweight suffered an injury just 15 seconds into his main event with Curtis Blaydes, however, as a long-concealed knee issue caught up with him.

Aspinall, 29, has not fought since, and his recovery from knee surgery was initially expected to keep him out for approximately 12 months. The sixth-ranked heavyweight has not completely ruled out a bout at UFC 286, though, with the pay-per-view event set to take place at the O2 Arena – where Aspinall headlined twice in 2022.

“My ego wants to go, ‘Stick me on the card, I’m good to go,’” Aspinall told OLBG. “But I need to think long term, which I’ve not been doing, and I need to get everything right.

“I’m not ruling it out. At the minute it’s still like 14 to 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.”

At last March’s edition of UFC London, Aspinall submitted veteran Alexander Volkov in the first round of their main event. The Briton was unable to replicate such a performance against Blaydes, however, and has now admitted that he briefly considered retirement after sustaining the injury against the American.

“I can’t afford for that [injury] to happen again,” Aspinall added. “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. The knee has to be 1,000,000 percent [for me to fight in March].

“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.”

Tom Aspinall injured his knee just 15 seconds into his fight with Curtis Blaydes (Getty Images)

Elaborating on his rehabilitation, Aspinall revealed that he has returned to light sparring but that he is not yet kicking again.

“I can full-on wrestle now, which is great. I literally started that this week,” he said. “I’m looking to get signed off by the physio in eight to 12 weeks, he reckons, completely signed off and back to full-on training. I’m really happy with it all.

“I get asked [when I’ll return] every time I step out of the freaking house. Realistically I’d love to give someone a date when I’m coming back and be like, ‘Yep, this is when I’m coming back,’ but it’s not as simple as that. It’s not as easy as coming back on this date. Bodies are complicated, and pretty big injuries like I’ve had, they’re quite complex. Who knows? I might hurt the knee again, it might start swelling up again, you never know. When I feel ready, I’ll be back.

“There still is [doubt in my mind about the knee]. I want that to be gone, because that’s what I’ve been dealing with the last four or five years with this old injury. I’ve been dealing with, ‘I can’t do this because of the knee, and I can’t do that.’

“I don’t want to train or fight like that anymore. I want to fight free of that, that’s why I'm not giving the comeback a timeframe – because I want that to be completely free before continuing with my career.”