#tom-aspinall

#tom-aspinall

The RIZIN JAPAN Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament will take place starting at RIZIN 54 on August 11, 2026, at the Toyota Arena. The grand prix final will take place at an event held in November.

If you want to make money, fight. One year ago, Tom was saying things like, 'I'm the active champion. I don't care about Jon Jones. I just care about the belt.' We all supported that because Tom was completely correct. And now one year later Tom is the one that appears to be holding out.

I represent the UFC world heavyweight champion... His contract is a f--ing disgrace, a disgrace. And I cannot believe the money that he is on. When you look at the commercial revenue that his fight would generate against a Pereira or against a Gane in a rematch. Honestly, if I'm Tom Aspinall, I'm looking at that contract, I'll go, 'I don't think you should even f--ing bother me.' But he wants to come back... By the time you've paid your tax and paid your time, there's no f--ing point in even fighting.

With a perfect 11-0 record that includes eight finishes, and the chance to fight in his hometown at The O2 Arena, Pinto has all the motivation in the world to go out and deliver a big performance on Saturday night as he plans to do two things: make himself happy with his performance, and issue a warning to the heavyweight division that a talented new threat is on his way.

I'm trying to change that narrative. I'm a big dude that never gave up on himself, you know, not a fat kid chasing a dream. I've reached this point and, initially, I didn't give a f*ck about any of the attention. I was just like, I'm gonna go out here, fight and try to make some money for my family and try to provide and be one of the best in the world.

"And dessert," he joked during Wednesday's UFC Houston media day, admitting that "I like too much sugar. [I] eat everything." Delija (26-7) is looking to bounce back from a weird loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta that he was not a fan of. The fight was initially stopped with what looked like a TKO finish for the Croatian heavyweight, but was later restarted when it was ruled Cortes-Acosta had been victim of an eye poke. Delija was knocked out shortly after.