Tom Aspinall breaks down in tears and dedicates his belt to his dad

11/12/2023 MMA

Tom Aspinall breaks down in tears and dedicates his belt to his dad after his father quit his high paying job to teach him MMA in their back garden 18 years ago!

  • Tom Aspinall dedicated his belt to his father after knocking out Sergei Pavlovich
  • Andy Aspinall quit his high paying job when Tom was 12 years old to train him
  • How do you get the biggest fight for an ailing AJ without huge risk? The Hook 

Tom Aspinall dedicated his belt to his father, Andy, after knocking out Russian powerhouse Sergei Pavlovich to claim the interim heavyweight title. 

Tom became the third UFC champion from his homeland by knocking out the Russian in the first round of their bout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Tom landed a powerful right hook to send Pavlovich tumbling to the floor before following up with several ground strikes to end the contest. 

The 30-year-old was overcome with emotion after the fight and dedicated his belt to his father – stating his dad had ‘worked harder than anybody’. 

Speaking after the fight, Tom said: ‘It’s been a crazy two and a half weeks. He’s [Pavlovich] a big scary guy. 

Tom Aspinall dedicated his belt to his father, Andy, after knocking out Russian powerhouse Sergei Pavlovich to claim the interim heavyweight title 

Tom landed a powerful right hook to send Pavlovich tumbling to the floor before following up with several ground strikes to end the contest 

The 30-year-old was overcome with emotion after the fight and dedicated his belt to his father – stating his dad had ‘worked harder than anybody’ 

‘I’ve never been as scared in my life as fighting this guy but you know what? I’ve got a lot of power too and I believe in myself. I really believe in myself.’

‘This man right here, my father, has worked harder than anybody. So, this belt right here is dedicated to my father.’

Andy quit his high paying job when Tom was just 12 years old to the youngster him develop his jiu-jitsu skills. 

The pair used to train together in garden before Andy eventually opened a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) school. 

Speaking to the Sun about his decision to leave his job, Tom’s father said: ‘I was a contractor for a long time making good money and then I was an IT manager.

‘I got offered a redundancy payment that I didn’t have to take, but Tom was very good at jiu-jitsu and there weren’t many jiu-jitsu schools open.

‘I just decided to teach jiu-jitsu and hoped that Tom at 12, and my other son at 9, would teach jiu-jitsu because they’d have a career then.’ 

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