What martial arts does Tom Aspinall use in the UFC?

Tom Aspinall is an English heavyweight MMA fighter who made his name in the UFC. Here, his style proved that you could be a heavier fighter whilst also applying technical ability in the cage. In other words, Aspinall isn’t your cliched heavyweight slugger and has a very versatile game. At time of writing, he has also scored an impressive 4 out of 5 performance of the night bonuses in the UFC which further proves his exciting style – as well as a winning streak approaching eight years.

Although impressive, it’s not too surprising considering that his father Andy was also a martial artist and that Aspinall has been training consistently since 7 years old. To this day, Aspinall still trains regularly under his father. So, what makes Tom Aspinall so good and why is he an elite fighter? Read on to find out more.

Tom Aspinall is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt

Perhaps Aspinall’s favorite martial art is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Interestingly, he got into this after training other disciplines but this seems to be his main focus. Aspinall is a BJJ black belt which seems to be the norm these days with modern MMA fighters. However, it’s not just in an MMA setting that he uses his grappling skills.

From white to brown belt, Aspinall has regularly competed in sports BJJ and has won various titles such as the British Open champion. Obviously, winning gold at brown belt shows that he’s highly technical and skilled.

Returning to the cage, he also has a number of submission victories including a rear naked choke against Andrei Arlovski and a straight armlock against Alexander Volkov. These are two very decorated, tough fighters which says it all. Back in 2015, Aspinall also won a local fight via heel hook – which further proves his BJJ knowledge. In short, if Aspinall gets on top in a fight then it’s not just ground and pound that you have to worry about. His submission game is equally as effective.

Tom Aspinall knows boxing

One of the first martial arts that Aspinall got into was boxing. Like BJJ, learning boxing is imperative when thinking about MMA as it’s used everywhere. Before entering the UFC, Aspinall was particularly reliant on his boxing and most of his pre-UFC wins were by knockout using his fists. Since then, his game has changed but it’s still fair to say that he’s a solid boxer.

This makes sense considering that he trains at the Team Kaobon gym in Liverpool. Here, he trains alongside the likes of Darren Till who is also well known for being a very dangerous boxer. Clearly, Kaobon are on to something when it comes to the striking part of MMA and in this respect, Aspinall is no different.

In 2017, Aspinall also had one professional boxing bout. At this point, he had temporarily stopped MMA fighting to focus on his training which proved to be a shrewd decision. His one fight was victorious, scoring a knockout after just over one minute in the first round. Often, MMA fighters will enter boxing matches to prove their skills in different settings.

He also knows some Muay Thai

Although Aspinall formally trains boxing, it’s also fair to say that he knows Muay Thai as well. This fits in well with the Kaobon style which isn’t tied down to only one discipline of striking. As for Muay Thai, the proof is in the numbers. In the UFC alone, three of his wins have come by way of knees and elbows. Sound familiar? This is proof that Aspinall is good at Muay Thai. In all honesty though, it’s not too surprising given his 6’5 frame. Arguably, this is the best build for a Thai or kickboxer due to having the ability to use your long legs and arms to out-reach your opponent.

Tom Aspinall knows wrestling

Before BJJ and boxing, Tom Aspinall trained wrestling. Although wrestling isn’t as popular in the UK as it is in the US, there’s still a competitive scene and you simply need to wrestle to be good at MMA.

This is particularly the case for Aspinall due to his tall height. Standing at 6’5 feet tall, he isn’t exactly small. However, this is not always ideal for wrestling. The reason for this is that it can actually be a bad thing whilst defending takedowns due to having a higher sense of gravity.

So, it’s important that Aspinall knows how to wrestle – at least from a defensive standpoint as much as anything. It’s not just defensive work though either, against Volkanovski he perfectly countered a head kick attempt by taking Volkanovski down with a blast double leg.

Conclusion

As you may have figured by now, Tom Aspinall is certainly a skilled, versatile mixed martial artist. Overall, this shouldn’t come as a surprise considering his childhood, father, and various skills. Like many top MMA fighters, Aspinall has literally devoted his life to fighting so it makes sense that he’s very good.

In conclusion, it would also be true to say that Aspinall is predominantly viewed as a striker, as opposed to a grappler. As seen though, this is a bit unfair considering his submission record and grappling skills.