Tom Aspinall hasn’t been spending a lot of time in the Octagon and he didn’t again on Saturday in front of a raucous home crowd at the O2 Arena in London.
But the 11th-ranked UFC heavyweight used the 3:45 he was in the cage against Alexander Volkov wisely. He showed why many regard him as not only a potential future champion but a star in a suddenly renewed and reinvigorated heavyweight division.
Aspinall outboxed and outwrestled the sixth-ranked Volkov and put his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt to good use. He used his quickness to slip a head kick and a right hand from Volkov.