Tom Aspinall would love to return at UFC 286, but he doubts it’s the wise thing to do.
Aspinall (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) underwent knee surgery after tearing his MCL and meniscus, as well as suffering damage to his ACL, in a TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes last July at UFC Fight Night 208.
Aspinall has headlined back-to-back events in the U.K. With UFC 286 on March 18 in London approaching, the 29-year-old Brit thinks he could be ready to return on that date, but is it worth the risk?
“My ego wants to go, ‘Stick me on the card, I’m good to go,’ but I need to think long term, which I’ve not been doing and need to get everything right,” Aspinall said in an interview with OLBG.
He continued, “I’m not ruling it out (fighting at UFC London). At the minute, it’s still like 14-15 weeks away. And at this point, I’ve not done much heavy training. It’s just been rehab really. But can I get ready in 14 weeks? The answer is yes. Will I be ready to start a title run in 14 weeks? I don’t know. And if I don’t know, that’s not the answer I’m looking for. It’s highly unlikely but not a complete no at this point.”
Aspinall’s injury happened just 15 seconds into his fight against Blaydes after he threw a right kick to his opponent’s thigh, which forced him to step back and hit the canvas. But the top contender said it’s a lingering knee injury that he’s been dealing with and wants to make sure it properly heals before he competes again.
“I can’t afford for that (the injury) to happen again,” Aspinall said. “I’m not talking about finances, I’m talking about my ego. My ego can’t take that again. Me on my back, clutching onto my knee – it’s just not going to happen again. There’s just no chance I can let that happen again. The knee has to be 1 million percent. …
“I’m not kicking just yet, but I’ve been doing a bit of sparring and stuff. I can full-on wrestle now, which is great. I literally started that this week. I’m looking to get signed off by the physio in eight to 12 weeks, he reckons, completely signed off and back to full-on training. I’m really happy with it all.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
