Tom Aspinall exclusive: “Alex Pereira is ‘incredibly inspiring’ and I want to fight him”

Ahead of his fight against Curtis Blaydes in his hometown of Manchester at UFC 304, UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall also sets his sights on current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and MMA superstar Alex Pereira in a future megabout.

Speaking to Prime Casino, Aspinall hails Pereira as an inspiration but also wants another shot at greatness by sharing the octagon with him.

Alex Pereira is ‘incredibly inspiring’ and I would love to fight him

“I think as an elite athlete, you have to look at other elite athletes and really appreciate what they are doing. Regardless of whether or not I am going to fight Alex or not, and we don’t know that right now, I am incredibly inspired by him.

“I think what he has done is great, in such a short space of time, and it is truly remarkable and I really respect what he has done. But I am a competitor and, as I have said, I absolutely love competing.

“Stick me in a cage, stick a pair of gloves on him, stick a pair of gloves on me and there’s nowhere else in the world I would rather be. That’s what I want to do, so I think it is pretty obvious that elite fighters like me and him love this stuff. 

“So we all want to fight each other, but I think as an athlete and as a person, you just have to really respect him for what he has done because it is remarkable and it is amazing.”

Roberto Villa

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.