Tom Aspinall at UFC 295: Where is he from, what is his record and can Brit become world champion this weekend?
Manchester's finest Tom Aspinall is back in action tonight at UFC 295 as he takes on Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event.
This will be Aspinall's second fight since suffering a freak knee injury during a bout against Curtis Blaydes in 2022.
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The heavyweight was one of the brightest prospects around before that unfortunate blow.
And he will now hope to make light work of Pavlovich to continue rising up the UFC rankings.
Where is Aspinall from?
The 30-year-old was born in Leigh, Greater Manchester.
Aspinall started martial arts as a seven-year-old, following his father's footsteps.
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He picked up Ju Jitsu before also getting involved in boxing and wrestling.
From there, the transition into mixed martial arts was easy, and Aspinall embarked on a career in MMA.
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What is Aspinall's record?
The Manchurian has fought professionally in boxing and MMA.
He boasts a 100 per cent KO record in boxing, having fought once and knocked out his opponent.
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But he decided that MMA was the way forward and proved to be a fearsome competitor, leading to UFC signing him.
He made his debut in July 2020.
Aspinall fought Jake Collier and wiped him out inside one round with a flurry of brutal punches.
He followed that up by taking down Alan Baudot just two months later.
Three more victories followed to set up a huge fight against Blaydes that ended horribly for the Englishman.
But his return earlier this year saw him knock Marcin Tybura out inside one round.
That win extended his UFC record to 6-1-0.
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Can Aspinall become a world champion this weekend?
This weekend, Aspinall will fight for the UFC interim heavyweight title.
Essentially, he will become a placeholder to ensure the division keeps moving.
The reason it's only interim is because UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been ruled out for a significant period of time due to a gruesome injury.
Once Jones is fit, he will face the holder of the interim belt to unify the two and regain his place as world champion.
So this is a huge opportunity for Aspinall to eventually become world champion.