UFC 321: Inside Tom Aspinall’s fight camp for his heavyweight title fight with Ciryl Gane

Aspinall prioritizes sleep when he comes home after training, but for Andy this is when he often watches Gane’s fight footage.

“Tom is also watching, but he has no say in what we do for eight to 12 weeks,” says Andy.

Aspinall and his team respect Gane and know that the nature of heavyweight MMA means that the tide of a fight can change in an instant, meaning preparation can sometimes be thrown out the window.

“Outside of fight training, you never know what you’re doing, whether it’s working or not, until you get into the fight, and then you don’t know what’s going to happen in the fight,” says Andy.

“I just think Tom needs to be trained as well as possible and his body needs to be able to respond.”

Aspinall spent 19 months as interim champion, waiting for an undisputed title fight with Jon Jones to materialize before the American retired.

At the time, Aspinall had defended his interim title once against Curtis Blaydes 15 months earlier.

Aspinall ends the interview by explaining his desire to reactivate the heavyweight division.

“I just want to be active. I think one of the characteristics of the heavyweight champion is that he’s not very active,” Aspinall said.

“That’s why I’d like to fight regularly. Twice, three times a year and keep the division moving forward.”