When the going gets tough, can Tom Aspinall rise to the occasion?
Aspinall is set to put his undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship at stake against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 321 on Oct. 25. It’ll be Aspinall’s first fight as the undisputed titleholder, a distinction that was given to him after Jon Jones retired from pro MMA competition.
While Aspinall is known for being an exciting heavyweight with knockout power, some wonder how he will fare in uncomfortable situations. It’s a question that Jailton Almeida posed during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show” (via MMAMania.com).
.@Malhadinho_UFC still has some questions around Tom Aspinall’s game:
“We haven’t seen [Aspinall] fighting from his back, which is something that I’m really curious to see how he goes about it.
I don’t think he’s ever been pressured as much as we would need to see someone being… pic.twitter.com/qkR6i3RuN6
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 29, 2025
“We haven’t seen [Aspinall] fighting from his back, which is something that I’m really curious to see how he goes about it,” Almeida told Ariel Helwani. “I don’t think he’s ever been pressured as much as we would need to see someone being pressured to really understand who they are. I think that there’s still some stuff to be checked with Aspinall. He’s a fantastic fighter, but I think there’s still some things that we need to see.”
Almeida then claimed he’d give Tom Aspinall a run for his money using his grappling.
“I’m more explosive than anybody [Aspinall] has faced, especially on the grappling side of things — I think it would probably develop as a grappling fight,” the No. 5-ranked Almeida continued. “He is a [Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu] black belt, but there’s levels to being a black belt. I think that I’ll be able to take him into deep waters once we get to the grappling side of things.”
“Malhadinho” will be fighting on the same card headlined by Aspinall vs. Gane. The grappling specialist will meet Alexander Volkov. An impressive showing could earn Almeida a title opportunity against the winner of the UFC 321 main event.
Following a letdown against Curtis Bladyes, Almeida has scored two first-round finishes in a row. Time will tell if he can keep the momentum going.
