Tom Aspinall has been making waves in the UFC ever since he debuted for the promotion back in July 2020. He beat Jake Collier with a quick TKO that announced his arrival in the big promotion.
Aspinall has added fresh blood in a division that desperately needs younger contenders. The heavyweight division has always had trouble building prospects.
Now Tom Aspinall is set to continue his climb up the division when he takes on the current number 11 ranked Shamil Abdurakhimov on March 19. The fight was first announced by ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
Per UFC officials, UFC is finalizing a heavyweight fight between Tom Aspinall and Shamil Abudrakhimov for March 19. Aspinall is 4-0 in UFC, ranked No. 11. Abudrakhimov is 5-4 in the UFC, ranked No. 8.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 2, 2021
Shamil Abdurakhimov is currently on a two-fight losing streak and will be looking to take out the surging English heavyweight. He last competed against Chris Daukaus earlier this year, losing by TKO in the second round.
Shamil Abdurakhimov lost to Curtis Blaydes before that back in 2019. He was previously on a three-fight win streak that included wins over former champion Andrei Arlovski and top contender Marcin Tybura.
Tom Aspinall is currently on a seven-fight winning streak and has a record of 11-2. He is undefeated in the UFC and already has some impressive wins.
2021 saw him beat Arlovski by submission and become only the second man to do so. His second bout saw him beat Sergey Spivak by TKO back in September.
Tom Aspinall is expected to have a very bright future in the UFC and could eventually become the heavyweight champion at some point. He will certainly have the opportunity if he continues to impress against the division's bigger names.
