Emotional Tom Aspinall offers interim heavyweight belt to Grandfather’s grave after Sergei Pavlovich win

Tom Aspinall offered his UFC interim-heavyweight title to his late grandfather, Peter Aspinall. He won the title against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

Emotional Tom Aspinall offers interim heavyweight belt to Grandfather’s grave after Sergei Pavlovich win

Tom Aspinall offered his UFC interim heavyweight belt to his late grandfather (via Instagram)

Tom Aspinall took the world by surprise when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. The bout went down as the co-main event and the odds were pretty close for either fighter. But, Aspinall knocked out the Russian in just 69 seconds to grab hold of the interim heavyweight belt. Now, he offered his belt to his late grandfather and shared a heartfelt message.

In a recent post on Instagram, Tom Aspinall shared a picture of his heavyweight title put over his grandfather’s grave. He lost his grandfather Peter Aspinall on 14 May 2023. As such, he shared a heartfelt message in the captions. Here is what he wrote on Instagram:

Earlier this year we lost my grandad ? it was his dream just as much as mine. I hope where ever we go when this life is over, he still gets to see it?
Tom Aspinall (via Instagram)
YouTube video

Tom Aspinall was praised as the next-generation heavyweight since he had both standup skills and ground game. This made him stand out from the rest of the heavyweight fighters. Now, he has knocked out the knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich, who was on a tear with six straight knockouts in the UFC. As such, Aspinall received a tremendous amount of praise from the MMA community.

FS Video

The British fighter is just 30 years old with an MMA record of 14 wins and 3 losses. With his recent win, Tom Aspinall went after Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic and called his next shots. He wanted to fight either of those legends in the near future. However, later he stated that that Jones should be stripped of his undisputed title, so he and Miocic could fight for it soon.

Tom Aspinall revealed the hardest part about being a fighter

Tom Aspinall became only the third UFC champion from the UK following Michael Bisping and Leon Edwards. Now, in an interview with Nina Marie Daniele, he revealed the hardest part about being a fighter. He said that getting punched in the face was the hardest and he didn’t like it at all.

Tom Aspinall brutally knocked out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295
Tom Aspinall brutally knocked out Sergei Pavlovich (Via X)

Further, Tom Aspinall admitted getting punched was scary and he didn’t enjoy it one bit. As such, he tried not to get hit that much during his fights. When you analyze it with his fighting style involving slick head movements and a lot of footwork, it’s true. However, he agreed that he liked to punch and inflict damage on others. Here is what he said:

I don't really like getting punched that much. I don't really enjoy it. It's quite exhausting. It's quite scary. It's just quite scary. I try not to get punched. I don't really enjoy that much. I like punching others.
Tom Aspinall (via X)

Tom Aspinall got the shot at the interim title against Sergei Pavlovich on short notice as the original fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic fell off. He pounced on the opportunity and is now the interim heavyweight champion. He wanted to unify the belts and become the undisputed champion soon. However, it depends on the matchmaking process of the UFC.

In case you missed it: