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Stream UFC 321 on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv
John Gooden interviews Tom Aspinall following ceremonial weigh-ins as he previews his heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane.
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Video Transcript
standing here with the champ. You've
just been up there on stage kind of all
the talking is done there, but those
final moments like immediate reactions
from being face to face, nose to nose
with Sirill.
Oh, good. I mean, there's not a lot that
I personally judge off that, but uh I
like feeling the energy of the crowd.
Like feeling like, you know, it's that's
the last thing we got to do and then uh
it's this is literally the last
interview I'm doing and then it's fight
time, so we're ready to go.
A lot has gone on over the last couple
of years. What does this fight this
weekend represent to Tom Aspenol, the
undisputed heavyweight champion?
This this is the fight for the number
one heavyweight in the world. Definitely
right now I'm number one. He's a number
one contender and uh let's find out who
the guy is. That's what matters to me.
You and Sir Gan have been spoken about
together for a long time now. What is it
like to finally sort of I'm not sure if
you have fatigue of thinking about him
and potential matchups. What's it like
to finally get that exorcism and get in
there and duke it out? I'm looking
forward to uh putting this guy behind
me. This has been uh this has been
simmering for like five, six years. So,
um yeah, but I think it's happened at
the right time for the heavyweight
title. Perfect time. And uh let's put it
to bed once and for all tomorrow.
You've got some incredible stats, Tom.
There's there's a lot of people out here
saying you're an absolute lock for this
one. Does that add some kind of
unnecessary pressure, if you will, in
your performance?
Look, I don't I don't pay attention to
what the people say. This is heavyweight
MMA at the highest level. Anything can
happen. I know that. He knows that.
We're both professionals. We've been
around this sport for a long time. We
know that anything can happen. All the
outside stuff is irrelevant to me.
On that note of shortest fight time,
things of that nature, how much have we
really seen of Tom Aspenol and what he's
capable of?
I'd say between 10 and 20%. I've got a
lot more to show, mate, if I need to.
Hopefully, I won't need to, but uh it's
there if I need it.
You get a win. What does this mark for
your reign in the heavyweight division?
Means I'm going to be more active. I'm
going to be I'm going to be calling the
shots a little bit more and fighting
more often, which is something that I've
been unable to do for the last kind of
18 months. So, let's uh let's get in
there. Let's get a win and let's get as
active as possible.
455 days, lot of talk with Sirill, all
the other stuff. What is the fairy tale
ending when you get your hand raised,
mate? The fairy tale ending for me is
always a knockout without taking any
damage. Do I think that's realistic?
Nope. I think this is a really tough
fight and uh I've prepared as such. So,
uh, if you're asking me what my fairy
tale would be, it would be not getting
hit and hitting him and that be it.
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