Tom Aspinall‘s return to the UFC following a knee injury resulted in an impressive win over Marcin Tybura, earning him praise from fellow MMA fighters on social media and leading him to challenge the winner of UFC Paris and heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Tom Aspinall couldn’t have hoped for a better comeback to the Octagon. After a lengthy recovery from a knee injury, Aspinall returned to headline at The O2 Arena in London during UFC London on Saturday. He was up against Marcin Tybura, the Polish veteran whom he was able to triumph over with a devastating attack. This helped to secure his reputation as one of the superior talents within the heavyweight division. Aspinall then went on to challenge the winner of the UFC Paris, Ciryl Gane vs Serghei Spivac, and the UFC heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.
Aspinall’s spotless performance left a great impression on his fellow MMA fighters, and their reactions were evident on social media. Many expressed their thoughts via their social media platforms including the likes of Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane. Ciryl Gane reacted to Aspinall’s callout by warning him to be careful what he wished for and mentioned seeing him in Paris soon. The UFC champion Jon Jones also noticed Aspinall’s command on the main event and admitted that Aspinall posed a different kind of challenge in comparison to the typical heavyweight fighter.
Several other fighters expressed their views on Aspinall’s performance. Kelvin Gastelum applauded his superb performance and likened him to the first time having seen Cain Velasquez inside the Octagon. Terrance McKinney and Belal Muhammad also praised Aspinall, with McKinney stating that Aspinall was “built different,” while Muhammad said, “Mannn he’s back!” and hinted at a likely matchup between Aspinall and Sergei. Fellow MMA fighter, Alan Jouban, is hoping to see Jones and Aspinall match up before Jones retires. Nicholas Dalby expressed his happiness for Aspinall’s triumphant return and redemption victory.
Numerous other fighters chimed in with their thoughts via Twitter. Aljamain Sterling described Aspinall as the title challenger and complimented his performance, calling it “beast!” Michael Chiesa suggested a tempting future match-up, Aspinall vs Pavlovich. Johnny Walker and Renato Moicano also shared their approval, with Walker mentioning the possibility of a new heavyweight throne contender and Moicano praising Aspinall’s performance as “the real deal.”