Tom Aspinall suffered a brutal knee injury at UFC Fight Night 208 in his fight against Curtis Blaydes. The British fighter’s knee gave out in a gruesome injury that was, apparently, coming.
He was suffering from issues in his right knee for years. Aspinall even revealed that he was essentially fighting on one leg for many fights after he suffered the injury years ago in training. During the fight against Blaydes in London, Aspinall was hoping for a good end to his homecoming. However, it was not meant to be.
With just 15 seconds passing in the main event, Aspinall’s knee gave out after he tried a kick. The eventual injury was a tear of the MCL and meniscus, as well as damage to the ACL. In several recent interviews, Aspinall explained that he had considered retirement after the brutal injury.
In a recent interview with Michael Bisping, ahead of his UFC 295 clash against Sergei Pavlovich for the interim UFC Heavyweight title, he said, “I was in such a dark spot for a few days there and honestly I felt like I could have retired and just quit and I think when you’re in that kind of mindset and you come back from it just gives you so much confidence.”
Explaining the exact scenario after his injury, “Depressing, horrendous … absolutely horrendous,” Aspinall told Full Circle with bet365. “It made me want to quit the sport for a little while. For a couple of days (after the injury) I didn’t want to carry on. I fell out with everything and everyone for a little.”
However, Aspinall made a full recovery and came back to fighting just 364 days after his horrific injury.
Tom Aspinall claimed that he has become a completely different person after his surgery
Aspinall faced Marcin Tybura just a day short of a year from his fight against Blaydes. He fought Tybura at the same O2 Arena in London where he suffered his injury. However, the difference was Aspinall himself. In an interview with TNT Sports before his bout against Tybura, he said he was a different person after his surgery.
He said, “I think that pre-injury Tom Aspinall and post-surgery Tom Aspinall are two completely different people.”
Further, he claimed that the injury was “by far the best thing that’s happened in my MMA career.” He explained, “Everything was smooth sailing before. I was just so blaze about everything. I don’t want to say the hunger wasn’t there, because it was. But my hunger is off the scale now. Ask anyone who’s around me. I’m like on edge for greatness.”
The Brit fighter was back with a bang as he defeated Tybura via TKO in the first round. Next up for Aspinall is Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 on November 11, 2023.