Who has Tom Aspinall lost to in the UFC? Exploring the freak injury that led to Englishman's year-long hiatus from MMA

Tom Aspinall was bumped to UFC undisputed heavyweight championship status after Jon Jones retired recently. For fans new to his journey, the UK MMA star's only loss on his UFC record came in a fight that lasted just 15 seconds.

That moment came in July 2022 at UFC London. Aspinall was headlining his first major card against Curtis Blaydes. He was undefeated in the UFC, steamrolling past every opponent and slowly positioning himself as the future of the division.

As the first round began, Aspinall threw a kick at Blaydes, planted his leg, and collapsed. He clutched his knee in agony, and the fight was over before it even began. Blaydes was handed the TKO win, and Aspinall suffered a devastating knee injury, tearing his MCL, meniscus, and damaging his ACL.

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Aspinall returned to action against Marcin Tybura a year later after the horrific injury and collected a first-round TKO win. He went on to capture the interim heavyweight title with another first-round knockout win against surging contender Sergei Pavlovich.

Two years after a freak knee injury handed him his only UFC loss, he ran it back with Blaydes at UFC 304 in Manchester. Aspinall dropped Blaydes with clean punches just one minute into the first round. He defended his interim heavyweight belt in front of a roaring home crowd and earned another Performance of the Night bonus.

Jailton Almeida demands a heavyweight title shot against Tom Aspinall

Jailton Almeida has made it clear he wants Tom Aspinall next. With Jon Jones out of the picture and the heavyweight title now active again, contenders are rushing to claim their shot.

Almeida, who's 9-1 in the UFC, is coming off a dominant first-round finish over Sergei Spivac at UFC 311. Known for his suffocating grappling and top control, Almeida has finished eight of his nine UFC wins.

Calling his shot at the undisputed heavyweight champion, Aspinall in an X post, Almeida wrote:

"Congrats champ. You deserve that. Now, let's make the only fight [that]] makes sense! Aspinall vs Almeida for the undisputed HW title of the world. Gane ducks you and me before, already fought for the belt and lost 2-times, and his last win was a robbery."

Check out Jailton Almeida's X post below:

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About the author

Abhishek Ramadasan Nambiar is a journalist who covers MMA at Sportskeeda. As a long-time practitioner of various martial arts, seeing the fusion of different forms into a quest for the ultimate fighter felt both primal and profoundly technical. At Sportskeeda, Abhishek's primary goal is to offer a fresh and distinctive angle through his writing, aiming to provide readers with more than just the basics of MMA. Along with keeping them informed about the latest developments in the sport, he strives to offer valuable insights that enhance their understanding of MMA.

When not writing about MMA, Abhishek often spends time reviewing music or devouring Brian Evanson's and Blake Crouch's work. Sign up to receive news, regular updates, and exclusive coverage.

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Edited by Abhishek Nambiar