Aspinall grew up around grappling. His father Andy, a former coder turned coach, has trained him for roughly two decades, and the gym in the north of England remains the base of his career, per a 2025 Yahoo News UK feature. He turned pro in 2014, joined the UFC in 2020, and built momentum with first-round finishes that pushed him into the top 10 in a hurry. The setback that defined him came on July 23, 2022, when he tore knee ligaments 15 seconds into a main event against Curtis Blaydes at the O2 Arena. Per TNT Sports, Aspinall has since described that period as a “really dark place” in which he thought about walking away from the sport.
Stylistically, he’s a heavyweight built for a lighter weight class. He lands 7.63 significant strikes per minute at 68% accuracy, defends takedowns at 80%, and pairs southpaw boxing with the jiu-jitsu game he got from his father. The Yahoo News UK profile describes a speed “unprecedented for his size” at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. Pace is the weapon. Opponents rarely make it out of the opening five minutes. The catch is sample size: only one of his UFC wins has gone past the first round, and the knee injury against Blaydes was a reminder of how fast the division can turn on a heavyweight under pressure.
The highlights are short, sharp, and almost identical in shape. He submitted Alexander Volkov in March 2022, came back from injury to stop Marcin Tybura in July 2023, then knocked out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in 69 seconds for the interim heavyweight title. He paid Blaydes back with a one-minute knockout at UFC 304 in Manchester in July 2024. The promotion to undisputed champion followed Jones’s exit. His first defense, against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October 2025, ended as a no-contest in the first round after repeated eye pokes — the belt stayed with him, the rematch question didn’t go away.
Aspinall has since had double eye surgery, per BBC Sport, and confirmed in July 2025 that his next opponent had been booked. He’s also signed a commercial deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency. The fight to settle the Gane question, and the division around it, is the one his reign now hinges on.