Tom Aspinall admits to feeling fear ahead of Sergei Pavlovich UFC 295 fight

09 November 2023 , 22:08

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Tom Aspinall admits to feeling fear ahead of Sergei Pavlovich UFC 295 fight

Tom Aspinall admitted to being terrified of Sergei Pavlovich - but insisted he will thrive on the fear this weekend.

Aspinall accepted a fight with the dangerous Russian for the interim UFC heavyweight title at just two weeks' notice. The Brit and the Russian will clash at Madison Square Garden in New York for the right to fight the winner of Jon Jones' postponed clash with Stipe Miocic.

Those rivals were due to clash this weekend before Jones pulled out injured, with the fight likely to be rescheduled for next year. Aspinall has had a two-week training camp for the biggest fight of his career, but insists he can overcome the man he described as the scariest man in mixed martial arts.

Asked what he thought of Pavlovich in person, Aspinall said: "I'm pretty scared, he's a scary guy. He's definitely an intimidating guy but that being said that, I do my best work when I'm scared. Fear is something I have a really good relationship with and it gives me a superpower. Generally speaking, the more scared I am the better I do in the fight."

Aspinall appeared to be destined to fight for the heavyweight title until he tore ligaments in his knee in the first round of his clash with Curtis Blaydes last summer. He returned 12 months later to stop Marcin Tybura and will now attempt to take advantage of his short-notice opportunity.

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And he believes he will be the one who poses the biggest challenges at one of the world's most famous arenas. "He impresses me everywhere," Aspinall admitted of Pavlovich.

"But the biggest issue he has with me is that there is no one else in the division like me. You can't replicate a guy like me in the gym. I'm not going to stand in the middle of the cage and trade with him."

Martin Domin