ABU DHABI – Tom Aspinall beat Jake Collier via first-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN 14 on Yas Island.
Take a look inside the fight with Aspinall, who registered an eye-catching performance on his octagon debut in only his 10th career fight.
Result: Tom Aspinall def. Jake Collier via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:45
Records: Tom Aspinall (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Jake Collier (11-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC)
Key stat: Aspinall’s 45-second win saw him claim the fourth-fastest finish for a debuting heavyweight in modern-era UFC history.
Aspinall on feeling at home in the octagon on the fight’s key moment
“It feels amazing, but this is something I’ve seen in my mind for a long time. I was looking across the octagon and I felt completely normal. I’m not too up, to be honest with you, because I feel like I’ve seen it all before, and I feel great.”
Aspinall on having to wait for his UFC debut
“I think it worked out quite well for me, to be quite honest. I had some injuries, I had some personal stuff going on. It sounds something small, but when I got to the UFC, I’d never had a diet in my life before, and I got put on a diet that wasn’t right for me and I didn’t feel great. … I just felt really flat when I was training. This time I sorted out properly with a real nutritionist and a proper chef and stuff, and I feel amazing.”
Aspinall on not rushing to the top
“Not very fast, to be honest. I’ve just turned 27. I want to to be doing this until I’m 35 at least, 37. I dunno, at least another 10 years-ish. I ain’t got much experience, so I want to fight guys around my level, I don’t want to step up too quick, I on’t want to be rushed and I just want to gain my experience slowly and get to the top when I’m ready.”
Aspinall on social media suggesting he looked like a young Frank Mir
“I mean, he’s a good-looking guy, but he’s at least 10 years older than me, so I’m not that happy with that! But he’s a good-looking guy, so I’ll take it!”
To hear more from Aspinall, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
