May 22, 2025 • 15 mins
UFC interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, joins Kate Mackz for a candid post-run interview, exploring the heart behind his rise from a family gym to global fame. Tom shares his martial arts upbringing, guided by his dad’s wisdom, and how he stays grounded despite millions of eyes watching. From debunking MMA stereotypes to revealing the mental toughness behind his fights, he opens up about resilience, family, and his goals to stay healthy and unbeaten. Perfect for fighters, runners, and anyone chasing dreams; this episode is a knockout of inspiration.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi guys, Welcome back to Post run High. Today I'm
sharing a conversation I had a little while back with
Tom Aspinall, who is the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. Tom
and I ran a few miles through Midtown Manhattan and
then sat down to record this conversation at the hotel
where the fighters stay, and we actually filmed in the
same room where the wayans happened just a few hours
(00:24):
before the UFC three oh nine way ins, so the
room definitely had a calm before the storm type of
energy with Madison Square Garden gearing up for the John
Jones versus depe Meo Titch fight. And over the years
I have had the chance to interview all kinds of athletes,
from recreational runners to olympians to pros in a range
of sports, and I have to say UFC fighters are
(00:47):
quickly becoming some of my favorite athletes to future. Every
time I've had the opportunity to chat with somebody from UFC,
I am in awe by how focused, disciplined, and humble
they are. This conversation with Tom was special for a
lot of reasons, but one that really stood out was
having his dad, Andy Aspinall there with us. Andy's not
(01:07):
just Tom's dad, he's his coach, his training partner, and
his biggest supporter. He's been there since day one, helping
shape Tom's entire career. And if you're a UFC or
Fighting fan, you know how much grit and sacrifice it
takes to get to the top. Seeing them together and
learning about their dynamic brought back so many memories for
me because I grew up with a dad like that too,
(01:27):
who was always showing up, running drolls with us in
the backyard and pushing us to be our best in
anything we did, so I know what that kind of
father child or parent child support looks and feels like.
And on top of that, my family is full of
UFC fans, So the second they found out that I'd
be running and sitting down with Tom Aspinall, my phone
did not stop blowing up. Also, just to note, this
(01:49):
was one of the very first times I did a
full sit down interview after a run, So if you've
been listening to post run high every week, you might
notice how much I've grown since this one. But whether
you've been following Tom's career for a while or you're
just getting introduced to him. Now, I think you'll take
something meaningful away from this episode. Let's get into it.
(02:18):
Tom Aspin all, welcome to post R and Hi, thank you.
How are you feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I'm quite sweating actually, surprisingly.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
You were wearing a lot of clothes.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I was, yeah, yeah, no, it's good.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I think the people, the people stressed me out more
than nations trying to not squish anybody.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah. For a reference, Tom and I just filmed a
running interview show episode, so make sure you go to
my Instagram and TikTok and YouTube to go check that out.
What is the big fight this weekend? Tell me about it?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So the big fight is.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Two of the best UFC fighters ever fighting each other.
So it's quite a big deal. These guys, they're getting
a little bit older now, but I'm not going to
say anything bad.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
One guy is the best heavyweight ever.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
The other guy is potentially the best UFC fighter toever fight.
So this is quite you know, this has happened a
couple of years too late in my opinion, but it's
still a big fight. So uh yeah, big big fight
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
What goes into two fighters coming together and agreeing to fight?
Is it like a set thing that UFC plans, or
is it the two fighters decide to face off a
little bit of both, like.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
If you can.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So if you've got like a beef with somebody that
is obviously going to sway the UFC a little bit
to like try and get them on side a little
bit more like if fans are invested, the UC generally
is invested.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I mean it's a business at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Like if it's going to make money, then the use
are usually all for it. So a little bit of both,
or sometimes it can just be not like a lot
of the times I've just been sat there and I
get a phone call and it's like this is who
you're fighting, and I'll just be like okay, And that's
how it works.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, And for a reference for everybody listening, Tom is
a professional MMA fighter.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
You joined UFC in twenty twenty. So I want you
to kind of take us back, tell us about your childhood,
what you were like growing up.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I've got quite a unique situation in terms of like
my me being involved in martial arts like a family
thing because my dad was like involved in martial arts
for as long as I can remember. He is one
of the first UKBJJ black belts, if that means anything
to anyone listening or watching. I would go to the
gym with my dad, but it was way different then,
like MMA didn't really exist in the UK at least,
(04:17):
or like kids combat sports didn't really exist that much
in MMA at the time. And then it was like
I trained a little bit, and then I'd be too
small or whatever. There was no kids, and then so
I'd always just be in the gym just like hanging
out basically. And then when I got old enough, I
got a little bit bigger, started training with the adults
and stuff, and then it was just like a natural progression,
like by the time realistically, like when I started realizing
(04:40):
that people started doing that rather than like a regular job,
like people were actually getting paid in doing that full time,
as opposed to like, I don't know, working in office,
working in I don't know, it was a mechanic or something,
like I wanted to do that rather than a regular job.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
You started fighting, I read when you were seven, right,
or that's when you kind of got started training.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
When I was seven, right.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah, that's when it's difficult to say, Like I say,
when I really started training properly because I was like
always in the gym, But I wasn't like seriously seriously
training until I was probably like thirteen fourteen, I don't think.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
But thirteen fourteen's young to start seriously training quite young.
Did you have like a traditional high school experience, like
were you in school? Were you homeschooled?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
No?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And I was in school.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yeah, I was just like a I had like a
regular North West of England childhood, okay, which is like
working class, you know, just doing regular stuff that the
other kids did.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I was no different to anybody else basically.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
And what was your training regimen like back then.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I was still training.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I was always serious, Like I always trained like a
professional even like before, so I was always very serious.
I was always like training once a day at least
until I was like till las school till I was
eighteen nineteen, and then I started training like twice a
day and taking it really seriously.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Was being a part of UFC always a big goal?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
This where I am now was the goal since I
was like twelve years old.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
What has it been like having your dad in your
court ever since you were young with the sport?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Well, I don't really know it any other way, to
be honest, But I've said it a million times before,
and anybody who's watched other interviews and that will know
about this. But like if, for example, we finished this
podcast now and we went to the hotel and my
dad said, listen, I think you should just leave it there,
don't fight anymore, I'll be like, Okay, no problem.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And why is that?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Just because I trusted that much, I wouldn't trust anybody
else to do it. So yeah, that's just it's just
mine and my dad to think, like as long as
we're both interested, we'll do it. But when one of
us isn't interested anymore, we'll probably both stop it. And
that's just like I said, I don't know it any
other way, So it's difficult to say what it would
be like doing it any other way. But that's that's
the way that I'm into it, Like we have that
(06:43):
thing between us.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
How long into your life as a kid was your
dad fighting? Like when did he stop?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Just like when I was getting into it really so
say it wasn't like it was difficult then because we're
talking like twenty five, twenty four, twenty three years ago.
Like being a professional m may fight in the UK
wasn't really a thing, so it was just like you
would compete in different aspects of me mad that only
really became a thing in the UK at least maybe
(07:08):
like the early two thousands at the earliest, maybe a
little bit later, so we were a little bit behind
in terms of when mma really got big in the UK.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And now you have a family of your own, right
if that's three kids or any of your kids interested
in fighting or taking a liking to it a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
I mean, my kids are pretty young.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
My kids are My oldest one's eight, and then I've
got twins that are five, so it's early days. My
oldest kids like now really into football soccer, so that's.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
That's his thing.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
But who knows. I would never push my kids into fighting.
They'll always train because I want them to be able
to defend themselves. There's some strange people out there and
you never know what's going to happen. But to fight
professionally you have to have like a level of drive
and commitment that I wouldn't try and force on somebody
because realistically, if you don't want to do it yourself,
it's never going to get done. Like you can't push
someone else to fight. Somebody could take so much mental
(07:59):
prefers operation as well.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Really quickly, I just wanted to say thank you so
much for listening. Your support means so much to me.
And if you're enjoying the episode with Tom, make sure
to follow the show so you never miss a conversation.
All right, back to the episode. Is it true that
there's like training camps that you guys will go to
for like two months at.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
A time in my perspective, and everybody's different, so MMA
is like very subjective. Everyone is a very individual sport.
Everyone does things differently. Like for me, I think you
only need to do that if you're very distracted at home.
My life just basically stays the same, but I just
train more intense, Like I have loads of good guys
who can train with at home. Yeah, I definitely go
other places sometimes to train. That we were in Holland
(08:46):
a couple of weeks ago where we just went to
train to help prepare for this, But I train at home.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I like being at home, so that's good for me.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Can you walk us through, like what does a week
in your life of training look like? Leading up to a.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Match between ten and twelve times a week probably, so
you're doing a lot of doubles.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I do doubles most days.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Wow, depends what you class is training, because somedays, like
for example, Wednesday, I have like an easier day because
it's like midweek. I'll like run some drills in the morning,
like just like drills with a partner and stuff. And
then in the evening I'll either do like a really
light run or like a crow like cross trainer bike
or whatever, and I'll do some stretching. So it depends
that if you class that as like a session or
(09:24):
active active recovery.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Do you feel like training is something that you genuinely
look forward to or do you think it just takes
a lot of grit and perseverance. I'll look forward to it,
you look forward to Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I love it. Love training.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, I'll train forever. I'll train the rest of my life. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
I mean, don't get me wrong, I will not train
intents every day like it no, to be honest, if
I've got a fight within like the next eight ten weeks,
I'll train intents every day near enough.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Within reason.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
When it gets tough is when you're like six weeks
out and you've got to, you know, kill yourself every session.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
That's tough.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Speaking about fights themselves. Losses in MMA fighting are very public,
so I'm curious, like, what is something that you've really
learned from the sport, whether it be in victory or
in a defeat.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I think you've got to stay as humble as possible because,
like you say, losses, everyone's going to see them, and
the more.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Popular you get, like you've got a lot of eyes
on you.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Like if I'm going in there fighting somebody, I have
literally like tens of millions of people watching. Nobody wants
to get beat up in front of tens of millions
of people. So I just try and be humble in
victory and defeat.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
If I can't.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It's not always that easy, do you know what I mean?
Sometimes you get opponents with they're annoying.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
How do you cancel out that noise?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
With great difficulty?
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like you have to be
so mentally tough.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah, I think so, I think you do.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
I think it's just one of those things where the
more you do something, the better you get. And I've
done it quite a lot of times, and you just
become more like mentally resilient.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yeah, you get your reps in.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, get your reps in.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Exactly what advice would you have for young fighters if you're.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Not enjoying it, do something else, because it's a long road.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
That would be my best advice.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Most of the people who get involved in the sport
make zero money out of it. So if you're going
to do it, make sure it's something that you're going
to enjoy because you're going to spend a long period
of your life doing it and it's going to be
miserable at times.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
At what point would you say into your fighting career
were you able to make a career out of it.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
It's a tough one because a lot of people they
think like the be all and end all is like
getting to the US, Like people think when you're in
the US you financially stable, and quite frankly, that isn't
the case. When you get like in the top ten
or at least top five, that's when you start making
more life changing money.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Like now I'm I'm like financially secure now.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I feel like a lot of MMA fighting comes with
maybe some misconceptions or some stereotypes about fighters. Which ones
would you say are true not true?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Again, it's very subjective.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Ever, may everyone's very different, so I think definitely some
serial types would apply to some people and they wouldn't
to others. Like, for example, generally speaking, I'm not a
very confrontational person.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I try and avoid that.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
You're not.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
No, I try not to.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
We were saying this in the running interviews. You're very
like jolly upbeat.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
I mean not all the time, but I know some
fighters are very confrontational, so it's difficult to say.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Well, I feel like the misconception for me that I
said to you during the running interview was I always
thought that there's a little bit of like animosity, but
you said there's.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Not it all yet I go like emotionless. That's that's
my approach to it. But as I keep saying, it's
very subjective. Some guys like to get angry, some guys
like to get really upset. For me, it doesn't work.
But I don't know. I think the fact that a
lot of mem fighters are maybe not too intelligent, and
there's a lot of intelligent and MEME fighters out there
actually like some of the nicest people that you could
(12:48):
ever meet, do MMA generally because their egos are in check,
Like they're getting beat up regular, whether that be in
the octagon or in the gym, like we get beat
up on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
So it's a humbling yeah, very exactly. All right, Well,
looking down the road, what are you most excited for
and what do you have coming up?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So, as we mentioned earlier, I am like an alternate
for this weekend, which is the first time I've ever
done this in my life.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
So I'm still a bit like, am I going to fight?
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I think this chances are quite small, but I still
can't fully relax until until Saturday. So hopefully I'm not
going to fight this weekend, but I'll be ready if
I do. I'm gonna fight next year, so I want
to fight like March April next year. I want to
keep being champion, of course, win a little bit more,
(13:36):
and just have like more good experiences, like I love fighting,
I love traveling the world as well and doing that stuff. Yeah,
and just keep having a positive experience is what.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I want to do.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
And I am not a UFC expert by any means.
And I know You've probably had to talk about this
a lot in recent interviews, but I'm curious about John
Jones Is it true that he keeps ducking a fight
with you.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Yeah, he's trying to not fight me. I don't know
why that is. You'll have to ask him.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Should we challenge him to fight you on this podcast?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
I'm not issue. I mean, I've challenged him enough. There's
only so much I can do. But he's got his Uh,
he's got his fight coming up this weekend.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
So let him do his thing and then we'll see
what happens after that.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
All right, And I like to end my podcast with
the manifestation. We kind of just did a little bit
of a manifestation, but twenty twenty five, what are some
goals that you have for yourself?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Still unbeaten?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
That's what I'd like to do with the belt, with
a lot more money and healthy.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I'd like to be healthy. I think that's a were
you're in a dangerous sport.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
That's something that you consider, or at least I consider,
especially as a getting a bit older. I'm like, I
want to finish the sport and come out of it
with everything intact.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
That that would be good.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Like unbeaten for another year with the title and healthy,
that would be nice.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I love it. Well, thank you so much for sharing
your journey with us today. You're amazing and I can't
wait to see what's next. Thank you, Thank you guys
so much for the listening to today's episode. I hope
this conversation gave you a deeper look at who Tom
aspinall is, not just as a fighter, but as a person,
a son, a dad, and someone who's built his career
with grit, heart and a really solid foundation. If you're
(15:14):
enjoying post run high, it would mean the world to
me if you rated, reviewed, and shared this episode with
someone who might enjoy it. We've got more conversations coming
that I can't wait for you to hear, So until
next time, thank you for being here and I will
see you next week.
Hi guys, Welcome back to Post run High. Today I'm
sharing a conversation I had a little while back with
Tom Aspinall, who is the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. Tom
and I ran a few miles through Midtown Manhattan and
then sat down to record this conversation at the hotel
where the fighters stay, and we actually filmed in the
same room where the wayans happened just a few hours
(00:24):
before the UFC three oh nine way ins, so the
room definitely had a calm before the storm type of
energy with Madison Square Garden gearing up for the John
Jones versus depe Meo Titch fight. And over the years
I have had the chance to interview all kinds of athletes,
from recreational runners to olympians to pros in a range
of sports, and I have to say UFC fighters are
(00:47):
quickly becoming some of my favorite athletes to future. Every
time I've had the opportunity to chat with somebody from UFC,
I am in awe by how focused, disciplined, and humble
they are. This conversation with Tom was special for a
lot of reasons, but one that really stood out was
having his dad, Andy Aspinall there with us. Andy's not
(01:07):
just Tom's dad, he's his coach, his training partner, and
his biggest supporter. He's been there since day one, helping
shape Tom's entire career. And if you're a UFC or
Fighting fan, you know how much grit and sacrifice it
takes to get to the top. Seeing them together and
learning about their dynamic brought back so many memories for
me because I grew up with a dad like that too,
(01:27):
who was always showing up, running drolls with us in
the backyard and pushing us to be our best in
anything we did, so I know what that kind of
father child or parent child support looks and feels like.
And on top of that, my family is full of
UFC fans, So the second they found out that I'd
be running and sitting down with Tom Aspinall, my phone
did not stop blowing up. Also, just to note, this
(01:49):
was one of the very first times I did a
full sit down interview after a run, So if you've
been listening to post run high every week, you might
notice how much I've grown since this one. But whether
you've been following Tom's career for a while or you're
just getting introduced to him. Now, I think you'll take
something meaningful away from this episode. Let's get into it.
(02:18):
Tom Aspin all, welcome to post R and Hi, thank you.
How are you feeling.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
I'm quite sweating actually, surprisingly.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
You were wearing a lot of clothes.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I was, yeah, yeah, no, it's good.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I think the people, the people stressed me out more
than nations trying to not squish anybody.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah. For a reference, Tom and I just filmed a
running interview show episode, so make sure you go to
my Instagram and TikTok and YouTube to go check that out.
What is the big fight this weekend? Tell me about it?
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So the big fight is.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Two of the best UFC fighters ever fighting each other.
So it's quite a big deal. These guys, they're getting
a little bit older now, but I'm not going to
say anything bad.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
One guy is the best heavyweight ever.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
The other guy is potentially the best UFC fighter toever fight.
So this is quite you know, this has happened a
couple of years too late in my opinion, but it's
still a big fight. So uh yeah, big big fight
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
What goes into two fighters coming together and agreeing to fight?
Is it like a set thing that UFC plans, or
is it the two fighters decide to face off a
little bit of both, like.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
If you can.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So if you've got like a beef with somebody that
is obviously going to sway the UFC a little bit
to like try and get them on side a little
bit more like if fans are invested, the UC generally
is invested.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I mean it's a business at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Like if it's going to make money, then the use
are usually all for it. So a little bit of both,
or sometimes it can just be not like a lot
of the times I've just been sat there and I
get a phone call and it's like this is who
you're fighting, and I'll just be like okay, And that's
how it works.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, And for a reference for everybody listening, Tom is
a professional MMA fighter.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
You joined UFC in twenty twenty. So I want you
to kind of take us back, tell us about your childhood,
what you were like growing up.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I've got quite a unique situation in terms of like
my me being involved in martial arts like a family
thing because my dad was like involved in martial arts
for as long as I can remember. He is one
of the first UKBJJ black belts, if that means anything
to anyone listening or watching. I would go to the
gym with my dad, but it was way different then,
like MMA didn't really exist in the UK at least,
(04:17):
or like kids combat sports didn't really exist that much
in MMA at the time. And then it was like
I trained a little bit, and then I'd be too
small or whatever. There was no kids, and then so
I'd always just be in the gym just like hanging
out basically. And then when I got old enough, I
got a little bit bigger, started training with the adults
and stuff, and then it was just like a natural progression,
like by the time realistically, like when I started realizing
(04:40):
that people started doing that rather than like a regular job,
like people were actually getting paid in doing that full time,
as opposed to like, I don't know, working in office,
working in I don't know, it was a mechanic or something,
like I wanted to do that rather than a regular job.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
You started fighting, I read when you were seven, right,
or that's when you kind of got started training.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
When I was seven, right.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah, that's when it's difficult to say, Like I say,
when I really started training properly because I was like
always in the gym, But I wasn't like seriously seriously
training until I was probably like thirteen fourteen, I don't think.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
But thirteen fourteen's young to start seriously training quite young.
Did you have like a traditional high school experience, like
were you in school? Were you homeschooled?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
No?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And I was in school.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yeah, I was just like a I had like a
regular North West of England childhood, okay, which is like
working class, you know, just doing regular stuff that the
other kids did.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I was no different to anybody else basically.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
And what was your training regimen like back then.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I was still training.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
I was always serious, Like I always trained like a
professional even like before, so I was always very serious.
I was always like training once a day at least
until I was like till las school till I was
eighteen nineteen, and then I started training like twice a
day and taking it really seriously.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Was being a part of UFC always a big goal?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
This where I am now was the goal since I
was like twelve years old.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
What has it been like having your dad in your
court ever since you were young with the sport?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Well, I don't really know it any other way, to
be honest, But I've said it a million times before,
and anybody who's watched other interviews and that will know
about this. But like if, for example, we finished this
podcast now and we went to the hotel and my
dad said, listen, I think you should just leave it there,
don't fight anymore, I'll be like, Okay, no problem.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And why is that?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Just because I trusted that much, I wouldn't trust anybody
else to do it. So yeah, that's just it's just
mine and my dad to think, like as long as
we're both interested, we'll do it. But when one of
us isn't interested anymore, we'll probably both stop it. And
that's just like I said, I don't know it any
other way, So it's difficult to say what it would
be like doing it any other way. But that's that's
the way that I'm into it, Like we have that
(06:43):
thing between us.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
How long into your life as a kid was your
dad fighting? Like when did he stop?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Just like when I was getting into it really so
say it wasn't like it was difficult then because we're
talking like twenty five, twenty four, twenty three years ago.
Like being a professional m may fight in the UK
wasn't really a thing, so it was just like you
would compete in different aspects of me mad that only
really became a thing in the UK at least maybe
(07:08):
like the early two thousands at the earliest, maybe a
little bit later, so we were a little bit behind
in terms of when mma really got big in the UK.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And now you have a family of your own, right
if that's three kids or any of your kids interested
in fighting or taking a liking to it a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
I mean, my kids are pretty young.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
My kids are My oldest one's eight, and then I've
got twins that are five, so it's early days. My
oldest kids like now really into football soccer, so that's.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
That's his thing.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
But who knows. I would never push my kids into fighting.
They'll always train because I want them to be able
to defend themselves. There's some strange people out there and
you never know what's going to happen. But to fight
professionally you have to have like a level of drive
and commitment that I wouldn't try and force on somebody
because realistically, if you don't want to do it yourself,
it's never going to get done. Like you can't push
someone else to fight. Somebody could take so much mental
(07:59):
prefers operation as well.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Really quickly, I just wanted to say thank you so
much for listening. Your support means so much to me.
And if you're enjoying the episode with Tom, make sure
to follow the show so you never miss a conversation.
All right, back to the episode. Is it true that
there's like training camps that you guys will go to
for like two months at.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
A time in my perspective, and everybody's different, so MMA
is like very subjective. Everyone is a very individual sport.
Everyone does things differently. Like for me, I think you
only need to do that if you're very distracted at home.
My life just basically stays the same, but I just
train more intense, Like I have loads of good guys
who can train with at home. Yeah, I definitely go
other places sometimes to train. That we were in Holland
(08:46):
a couple of weeks ago where we just went to
train to help prepare for this, But I train at home.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I like being at home, so that's good for me.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Can you walk us through, like what does a week
in your life of training look like? Leading up to a.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Match between ten and twelve times a week probably, so
you're doing a lot of doubles.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I do doubles most days.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Wow, depends what you class is training, because somedays, like
for example, Wednesday, I have like an easier day because
it's like midweek. I'll like run some drills in the morning,
like just like drills with a partner and stuff. And
then in the evening I'll either do like a really
light run or like a crow like cross trainer bike
or whatever, and I'll do some stretching. So it depends
that if you class that as like a session or
(09:24):
active active recovery.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Do you feel like training is something that you genuinely
look forward to or do you think it just takes
a lot of grit and perseverance. I'll look forward to it,
you look forward to Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I love it. Love training.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah, I'll train forever. I'll train the rest of my life. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
I mean, don't get me wrong, I will not train
intents every day like it no, to be honest, if
I've got a fight within like the next eight ten weeks,
I'll train intents every day near enough.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Within reason.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
When it gets tough is when you're like six weeks
out and you've got to, you know, kill yourself every session.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
That's tough.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Speaking about fights themselves. Losses in MMA fighting are very public,
so I'm curious, like, what is something that you've really
learned from the sport, whether it be in victory or
in a defeat.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I think you've got to stay as humble as possible because,
like you say, losses, everyone's going to see them, and
the more.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Popular you get, like you've got a lot of eyes
on you.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Like if I'm going in there fighting somebody, I have
literally like tens of millions of people watching. Nobody wants
to get beat up in front of tens of millions
of people. So I just try and be humble in
victory and defeat.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
If I can't.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It's not always that easy, do you know what I mean?
Sometimes you get opponents with they're annoying.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
How do you cancel out that noise?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
With great difficulty?
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like you have to be
so mentally tough.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah, I think so, I think you do.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
I think it's just one of those things where the
more you do something, the better you get. And I've
done it quite a lot of times, and you just
become more like mentally resilient.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yeah, you get your reps in.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, get your reps in.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Exactly what advice would you have for young fighters if you're.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Not enjoying it, do something else, because it's a long road.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
That would be my best advice.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Most of the people who get involved in the sport
make zero money out of it. So if you're going
to do it, make sure it's something that you're going
to enjoy because you're going to spend a long period
of your life doing it and it's going to be
miserable at times.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
At what point would you say into your fighting career
were you able to make a career out of it.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
It's a tough one because a lot of people they
think like the be all and end all is like
getting to the US, Like people think when you're in
the US you financially stable, and quite frankly, that isn't
the case. When you get like in the top ten
or at least top five, that's when you start making
more life changing money.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Like now I'm I'm like financially secure now.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I feel like a lot of MMA fighting comes with
maybe some misconceptions or some stereotypes about fighters. Which ones
would you say are true not true?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Again, it's very subjective.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Ever, may everyone's very different, so I think definitely some
serial types would apply to some people and they wouldn't
to others. Like, for example, generally speaking, I'm not a
very confrontational person.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
I try and avoid that.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
You're not.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
No, I try not to.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
We were saying this in the running interviews. You're very
like jolly upbeat.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
I mean not all the time, but I know some
fighters are very confrontational, so it's difficult to say.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Well, I feel like the misconception for me that I
said to you during the running interview was I always
thought that there's a little bit of like animosity, but
you said there's.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Not it all yet I go like emotionless. That's that's
my approach to it. But as I keep saying, it's
very subjective. Some guys like to get angry, some guys
like to get really upset. For me, it doesn't work.
But I don't know. I think the fact that a
lot of mem fighters are maybe not too intelligent, and
there's a lot of intelligent and MEME fighters out there
actually like some of the nicest people that you could
(12:48):
ever meet, do MMA generally because their egos are in check,
Like they're getting beat up regular, whether that be in
the octagon or in the gym, like we get beat
up on a regular basis.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
So it's a humbling yeah, very exactly. All right, Well,
looking down the road, what are you most excited for
and what do you have coming up?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So, as we mentioned earlier, I am like an alternate
for this weekend, which is the first time I've ever
done this in my life.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
So I'm still a bit like, am I going to fight?
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I think this chances are quite small, but I still
can't fully relax until until Saturday. So hopefully I'm not
going to fight this weekend, but I'll be ready if
I do. I'm gonna fight next year, so I want
to fight like March April next year. I want to
keep being champion, of course, win a little bit more,
(13:36):
and just have like more good experiences, like I love fighting,
I love traveling the world as well and doing that stuff. Yeah,
and just keep having a positive experience is what.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I want to do.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
And I am not a UFC expert by any means.
And I know You've probably had to talk about this
a lot in recent interviews, but I'm curious about John
Jones Is it true that he keeps ducking a fight
with you.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Yeah, he's trying to not fight me. I don't know
why that is. You'll have to ask him.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Should we challenge him to fight you on this podcast?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
I'm not issue. I mean, I've challenged him enough. There's
only so much I can do. But he's got his Uh,
he's got his fight coming up this weekend.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
So let him do his thing and then we'll see
what happens after that.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
All right, And I like to end my podcast with
the manifestation. We kind of just did a little bit
of a manifestation, but twenty twenty five, what are some
goals that you have for yourself?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Still unbeaten?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
That's what I'd like to do with the belt, with
a lot more money and healthy.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I'd like to be healthy. I think that's a were
you're in a dangerous sport.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
That's something that you consider, or at least I consider,
especially as a getting a bit older. I'm like, I
want to finish the sport and come out of it
with everything intact.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
That that would be good.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Like unbeaten for another year with the title and healthy,
that would be nice.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I love it. Well, thank you so much for sharing
your journey with us today. You're amazing and I can't
wait to see what's next. Thank you, Thank you guys
so much for the listening to today's episode. I hope
this conversation gave you a deeper look at who Tom
aspinall is, not just as a fighter, but as a person,
a son, a dad, and someone who's built his career
with grit, heart and a really solid foundation. If you're
(15:14):
enjoying post run high, it would mean the world to
me if you rated, reviewed, and shared this episode with
someone who might enjoy it. We've got more conversations coming
that I can't wait for you to hear, So until
next time, thank you for being here and I will
see you next week.
Host
Kate Mackz
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