As impressive as Tom
Aspinall was at UFC Fight Night 204, he says he only scratched
the surface regarding his overall skillset in a first-round
submission of Alexander
Volkov in Saturday’s main event.
“I didn’t really show much,” Aspinall said at the post-fight press
conference. “I keep it that way every time if I can. I want to be
the biggest mystery in heavyweight MMA. These people think they
know about me — nobody knows about me. These people think they know
what they’re up against — nobody knows what they’re up against.
Let’s keep it a secret.”
Aspinall became the first person since 2010 to make Volkov tap, and
looked more impressive than highly-ranked heavyweights such as
Ciryl
Gane and Curtis
Blaydes have against the Russian veteran.
“It couldn’t have gone any better,” Aspinall said. “That was the
ideal performance. I truly thought I was gonna go five rounds. To
get a guy like Volkov — who has been finished twice [in the UFC] —
out of there in the first round, just shows credit to my finishing
ability. My finishing ability is highest of the high level.
“[It was] everything I dreamed of and more. Unbelievable. I see a
lot of media and s–t like that, ‘Oh, he’s gonna feel the pressure
when he fights in front of a crowd. Oh, he’s gonna feel the
pressure with Volkov who is a veteran.’ Other people might feel the
pressure. Other people are not me. I’m different.”
In victory, Aspinall extended his finishing streak in UFC
competition to five, which ties him with another surging
heavyweight – Tai Tuivasa
– for the longest active finishing streak in the promotion. It was
only natural then, that Aspinall called for a matchup with the
master of the shoey himself.
“The reason why I called out Tai is, first of all, I’m a massive
fan of his style. Second of all, I’m a massive fan of his
personality,” Aspinall said. “The crowd goes wild when he fights.
And apparently, the crowd goes wild when I fight. So me and him in
the U.K., come on, bro. What a good time that would be. Let’s line
it up (for) the next U.K. card. Get me and Tai on it – please.”