Tom Aspinall reports that Roman Fury has told him privately that Tommy has taken training as seriously as ever
OLBG sat down with UFC heavyweight star, Tom Aspinall, who said that Roman Fury has told him privately that his brother Tommy has taken training as seriously as ever with the Jake Paul fight in his sights.The 29-year-old even said how excited he’d be to watch Fury vs Ngannou inside a cage, whilst sharing his fitness update on coming back to UFC.
Jake Paul has made Tommy Fury take training seriously – Fight prediction is 50-50
“It's a 50-50 fight between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury. I like Jake Paul and Tommy Fury is a mate of mine, I've known him since he was 14 years old. I've not seen him train for a while but I spoke to his brother recently, Roman Fury. And Roman said he's really turned a corner in his training. He said something has switched in him and he's looking amazing in the gym and has really turned the corner, and I guess that's true because Roman's not said that on any media outlet, he wasn't saying it to big Tommy up – sometimes people say things to the media that aren't true. Roman said it in a private situation, so if he's saying that I believe that's the truth and I think it's going to be a 50-50 fight.”
Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury predictions
There’s nothing I would enjoy more than Fury vs Ngannou – The world will be watching
“Tyson Fury said he wants to fight Francis Ngannou in MMA gloves inside a cage but with boxing rules, the whole world would watch that. There's nothing I would enjoy more than that fight. That would be absolutely awesome. If they did three five minute rounds and they were allowed some kind of clinching as well, maybe let them clinch for like 30 seconds, let them have some under hooks and that, I'd love to see that more than anything else.
“I would have loved to see Jones-Ngannou but I think what Ngannou has done is really good. I respect people who stick to their views and if something is not right for them they still stick by what they believe. I really respect that on a personal level. If someone is convinced of something and they won't move on it, you have to respect that in any walk of life.”
Sparring is exhausting, there’s a slim chance I make it to UFC286
“I spoke to the UFC before Christmas about UFC286 and they just said keep them updated if I wanted to be on the show or not. Especially for a UK show, I'm a pretty big draw, and without sounding arrogant, it's up to me whether I want to be on that show or not. I'm sure they'll try to get me on it if I want to be on it. I'm just waiting to see where everything is at.
“If I want to get on that show I'm sure they'll allow me. There's no cut off date per se, but if I give them a reasonable amount of notice, if I give them six or eight weeks, I'm sure they'll do their best to get me on. But it also depends on the division, it's got to be a fight that makes sense. It's got to be someone I'm interested in fighting, I'm not just going to fight some unranked guy, it's got to be someone who is a good fight for me. My gut feeling is I'm not going to be on the card but who knows, I'm feeling pretty damn good in sparring, I've done my first two spars this week. My cardio is exactly where it needs to be, I'm strong as hell because I've been lifting loads of weights, my timing is good because I've been drilling loads, even though I've not been sparring.
“I feel really good and who knows, I might have a couple more spars and think stuff it, let's go for it, there’s a slim chance of that happening. Throughout my UFC career so far I've always been a bit keen to please everyone else, whether that's the UFC, fans, people around me – and I do not want to do that anymore. I think it's upto me now. I've got my foot in the door pretty good, I'm in a really good spot and will come back when it's right for me. Not just because I'm pressured into it. I might turn around next after two great spars again and feel like I can fight in nine or ten weeks, or I might think I'll come back when it's right. I don't think having this break has done me any harm, it's actually got me in a good spot mentally. I went on a wild run of being really active and finishing everybody and now I'm ready and getting my body ready to do what I set out to do, which is be UFC heavyweight champ of the world.
“I've been doing everything until this point, except full MMA sparring. I've even done some boxing sparring a few times. I've rolled and wrestled but there's nothing quite like MMA sparring where anything can happen and it feels good, it feels so good. But I did forget how tough it is to be honest. It's really hardwork. I forgot how exhausting it is to have someone punching and kicking you in the face and everything. But it's a lot of fun to be back.”
I want to fight abroad – I’ll have same appeal as Ricky Hatton
“I think I could definitely have that Ricky Hatton style support when I eventually fight abroad. I think that even though I'm not as big a name internationally as I am here, I’ll have that travelling support when I eventually fight abroad. I think that's on the cards. A big group of people with me when I fight aboard. Maybe not Vegas first, maybe a little European away day to warm us up, let the people get used to travelling, then let's see where it goes. It's going to be great.”
I’m not interested in doing anymore Michael McIntyre stints, it was fun but I’m focused on fighting
“Going into the programme I had been away, I hadn't trained for weeks, I'd been eating rubbish. And then they've got me taking my shirt off on the TV. No-one told me I'd be taking my shirt off, I'd have gone on a diet for a week if I'd known, or at least done a bit of training. So they told me to take my shirt off and I was thinking do I have to take my shirt off? But it was funny. Chris Ramsay is a comedian and apparently a fan of mine. It was fun, but for me I'm interested in fighting, I'm not into celebrity stuff, it doesn't bother me. I'm more interested in fighting.”
Cyril Gane will be tough for Jon Jones, but he won’t feel the effects of ring rust
“I think Ciryl Gane is a tough fight for Jon Jones. I highly rate Gane. He's really good and has a style unlike a lot of other heavyweights. You could make a case that me and Gane have similar styles. Jon Jones, even though he's coming up to heavyweight, is better off sparring light heavyweights who are light on their feet and good movers because that kind of work is really hard to find at heavyweight. Maybe do a mix of both, spar a heavyweight for a round and then a light heavyweight. He needs to get someone who is a good mover – Gane's style is really rare for a heavyweight – he's not just a plodder and a swinger. There's a lot of techniques, setups, and his movement is great. It's a tough fight for him but Jon Jones is one of the best to grace the Octagon, so you can never count him out.
“I would have been a good sparring partner, but he's not asked me. I'm not saying I'm exactly the same as Cyril Gane, but there's not many guys who are our size and can move like we both can. It's pretty rare. Our style are different but the footwork and movement we have is not something a lot of heavyweights have.
“I don't believe in ring rust, I think it's a load of rubbish but it does depend on who you are. I actually feel better because of the time out. It is sometimes good to take a break from the pressure of it all. But someone like Jon Jones who has had five million title fights, it's not going to affect him too much. His timing might be off a little bit for a couple minutes, but it's not going to be a massive factor for him. The biggest factor is the move up in weight, he's not going to be miles bigger than everyone else, he's going to be a smaller guy in most fights and that's way bigger factor than having three years out. For an upcomer without experience ring rust may be a real thing but we are talking about one of the best guys ever, who has had a ridiculous amount of title fights, I don't think it will be any issue for him.
“Heavyweight MMA is the wildest division in the most unpredictable sport in the world. I can't pick a winner. You're only one punch away from getting knocked out. Let's be realistic, don't put your mortgage on anybody winning in heavyweight MMA. It's wild.”
“I'm very athletic, I'm not one of these big plodders, so I think that my speed would be the difference if I fought Jones. I'm quicker than Jon Jones, I'm fresher than him, in that I've not had a million title fights, and I've not got a lot of miles on the clock, so I have that to my advantage if I'm fighting someone like Jones. But I'm not saying it would be easy because it absolutely would not.”
I’d like to fight Rozenstruik, Romanov, Tuivassa or Tybura
“I've called people out in the past and they never seem to give me the fights. I've done it a few times, I called out Sergei Spivac, granted I did end up fighting him, but didn't get him when I first called him out. I called out Blagoy Ivanov, but they didn't give me that. And I also called out Tai Tuivassa and they did not give him either. So that's three times and they've not even given me them and don't even like calling people out. I did that because I felt like the UFC wanted me to. But to answer the question who is on my shortlist for a return fight, there's a lot of good heavyweights coming up. Marcel Tybura is fighting soon. If he wins that's a potential fight. I think Jairzinho Rozenstruik is potentially a good fight for me because of where we are in the rankings. I know Alexandr Romanov is fighting Alexander Volkov, that's a big ask. I don't think he beats Volkov, but if he wins that's a potential fight. You've got Tai Tuivassa, there's loads. And also I've noticed, especially in the heavyweight division, they're not really as bothered about the rankings as they are in other divisions, like Volkov just beat Rozenstruik, now he’s fighting Romanov who just lost to Tybura. Ones coming off a loss and ones coming off a big win and they're still putting them together. It's a free for all and I'm ok with that, I'm not here to avoid anyone. Rankings don't mean anything to me, anybody in the top 15 can beat each other or any given day.”
Leon will beat Usman
“I'm backing Leon to beat Usman. I think the whole altitude thing was a factor the first time round. I've not fought at altitude myself but I know Leon was looking great in the first round and then seemed to go a little bit flat for a few rounds. Leon has never had problems with gassing before in all of his fights, I've seen them all. A c-level Leoncan beat Usman pretty easily.”
