Tom Aspinall is one of the world’s greatest heavyweights, and even managed to rag doll the ‘World’s Strongest Man’.
Eddie Hall, the 2017 WSM winner, is 352lb and broke records for punching power at the UFC Performance Institute once held by Francis Ngannou and Alex Pereira. But in the cage, he learned the levels when he got to grapple with interim heavyweight champion Aspinall.
Both of the big men are preparing for fights of their own; on April 26 at KSW 105 Gliwice, Poland Hall will take on fellow strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski in his full MMA debut. Aspinall is still awaiting the date for his fight with Jon Jones to unify the UFC heavyweight division, but is expected out this year.
Eddie Hall admits Tom Aspinall made him ‘feel like a girl’ in sparring
Ahead of his full debut in the cage on April 26, Eddie Hall has spent time with UFC champion Tom Aspinall. The British duo have collaborated before, and while the strongman is opting to train with a bespoke team in Stoke, the pair’s camps are in contact.
In an exclusive chat with Bloody Elbow ahead of the fight, Hall explained: “Look, man, I’m not Jon Jones, but I can honestly, hand on heart say I’ve never had such a humbling experience as to getting in the ring with Tom Aspinall and sparring.
“Doing the grappling, because you just feel like a little girl. Even a man my size, he just uses your strengths against you and his hands are so fast. His footwork is just incredible. You just feel like a f—ing f—y to go in the ring and doing business with Tom Aspinall.
“And that’s me, that’s like a ‘World’s Strongest Man’ saying that. It’s a very humbling experience going in the ring with Tom.”
Eddie Hall backs Aspinall to dethrone Jon Jones
The big fight that the UFC fandom wants to see is the unification at heavyweight between Aspinall and Jones. They have been playing cat and mouse for the past few years, but it seems that Dana White may be on the cusp of finally making it happen.
Fans have theorized that the American is ‘ducking’ his British counterpart, particularly given his relentless pursuit of other fights. Last November he inexplicably faced Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and proceeded to insist that then-light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira was a bigger draw.
“I believe so,” Hall replied when asked if Aspinall will beat Jones. “Jon Jones is obviously the champ and he’s formidable. But there’s a reason this fight has been ducked, in my opinion. If Jon Jones thought he could beat him, he’d f—ing fight him right now, wouldn’t he?
