Up Close with John Gooden: Tom Aspinall | Episode 1

Following the announcement that the UK’s Tom Aspinall will step up to fight for UFC interim gold at UFC 295, UFC commentator John Gooden was granted exclusive access to visit Tom in camp. In this Up Close mini series, John observed Tom during a training session and sat down with him at length to talk about his shortened preparation and his mindset ahead of his biggest and most dangerous fight yet. Plus, John also chatted with the key members of Team Aspinall to gauge the anticipation ahead of the title fight against Sergei Pavlovich.
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[@anasshahid224]

This video was a great, Tom Aspinall is such a humble respectful guy, really hope he wins the interim HW Championship at UFC 295.

[@KAMI-jr3qe]

Pull your tongue out of his arsehole Gary, dogs do that… you’re not a dog are you?

[@IAMJEFFREY-cw9ns]

Well he did and it was a great performance.

[@anasshahid224]

@@IAMJEFFREY-cw9ns so true man!

[@mattaron2270]

He is the man!

[@DuhYaThink]

Can’t argue he’s the man! For a HW this dude has movement and reaction time that is very respectable. Dude is good. 👑

[@MikeSnifferpippets]

This is the heavyweight legend to be that we deserve, he’s brilliant to watch, powerful, fast, smart, doesn’t take drugs and drive cars into pregnant woman, doesn’t take steroids and is brilliant role model for the next generation! Well done Tom, keep it up!

[@curlyteeth3097]

When a young kid gets parented right you get Tom ...

[@JBavs]

What 6'5" and 260 pound absolute killer... jheez im gunna parent so good im gunna create an army of mma super athletes 😆

[@Abman31]

I am Afghan, but I am rooting for Tom . He is such a humble respectful gaint .👊🏻

[@ColmPadraig]

I'm English and I'm rooting for Tom, but I really like both men. Pavlovich is a beast and such a good guy like Tom is. May the best man win

[@kevinworrall231]

Don't understand how you can go against your countryman but hey that's just me

[@ColmPadraig]

@@kevinworrall231 Don't understand how you can't read, try reading the first line again.

[@EnergizedShow]

UFC 295 is going to be a unreal event!

[@giffysstiffy8874giffytuck]

Aspinall is a SELLOUT🤢🤮...Parking is a TRUE ENGLISH FREAT🙂😎

[@Gg-wh3vi]

Two main event level title fights… with a sleeper undercard. These guys on the undercard that don’t have names in 2 years from now seem to be all mainstays in their respective divisions

[@TomTom-kl3hp]

@@Gg-wh3vicasual

[@tazmannn]

One of the most talented fighters to come from the UK is tom and he's got the whole of the UK behind him! What a gentleman 🙏👊

[@gavinmitchell4477]

Ditto

[@t.d6379]

If he becomes champ he will be champ for ages

[@tazmannn]

@@t.d6379 agreed mate I think theirs only 2 people who could potentially beat tom and thats the guy he's fighting next and jon jones but Tom's the main man

[@chrisboult6610]

Apart from pavlov

[@tazmannn]

@@chrisboult6610 I said 2 guys could beat Tom lol Jon iones and pavlavich is the other 1 who could beat Tom!

[@almurabitun]

This is what you call a true example of a warrior and good role model for British MMA. I'm an Asian guy, do MMA and defo rooting for Aspinal to bring home the win for us in England.

[@cassanateli]

But why does he look like a WW2 Spitfire pilot?

[@tazmannn]

@@cassanateli alot of spitfire pilotd from what I've seen have them lottle mustaches lol Tom's got one of them mustaches abit like the squadron who flew the spitfires maybe that's why he looks like one of them haha I'm not sure I've never thought about it haha good comment tho 🙏👊

[@TomTom-kl3hp]

@@cassanatelicasual

[@Gg-wh3vi]

Something about John Gooden seems more suited to announce ufc events. Gooden is actually my favorite play by play even though Anik is the better of the two if that makes sense. Much respect 🙏🏼

[@JohnGoodenUK]

I’ll take that. And yes, JA is the best to do it. Absolute legend

[@n33cho]

I love seeing anyone do well in life when they've put the work in and especially an English person. When it's a northerner though it hits different. Northern working class lad fighting at MSG!!! It's class!! I am so happy for him! Bring that strap back north lad!!

[@XoXo475]

For those that don’t know too much about John Gooden , the humble , soft spoken commentator and interviewer here. He’s actually a bit of a secret badass himself . Dudes done a bunch of Iron Man competitions, which definitely aren’t easy!!! My wife’s sister also knew a guy that met him playing golf in the 90’s .

[@jack6080]

Is this a John Gooden burner account? 🤣

[@crazypato3752]

What's his job

[@michaellandon8901]

That's not John Gooden it's the guy from Strictly Come Dancing

[@TomTom-kl3hp]

@@jack6080casual

[@cliveramsbotty6077]

my uncle used to live next door to a guy who had an old vhs tape of his son competing against john gooden in a regional ping pong tournament

[@2ClutchCee]

Let’s go big lad, bring that belt back to the northwest Great chat as well mr gooden!

[@JohnGoodenUK]

🙏🏼 thank you

[@EdgingLucasTracy]

Such a genuine guy, literally let's his skills do the talking and purely gets by on that not hyping up fights by talking shit

[@Jgiuly999]

Let’s go Tom!!! The whole of the U.K is behind you on Saturday. I’m going to be watching through my fingers and praying you bring that strap home! Be extremely confident. You have put in the work and have the skills to achieve it.

[@gavingg4761]

The whole of the uk😂😂😂 calm down he'll get chinned 😂

[@deetee8247]

@@gavingg4761you were saying?

[@Tgghput]

@@gavingg4761 weheyyyy unlucky lad 🤡 little clown 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@GB-dp5bs]

​@@gavingg4761eating your words now pal

[@walterwhite1123]

Shut up gavin ya blue waffle

[@danielwestwater9748]

Tom is probably the most skilful fighter to come out of the UK mma in my opinion, he's so well rounded and moves inhumanly quick for his size. Such a genuine person as well, says things how they are and still carries such a humble and respectful demeanour. Let's go future champ!!!

[@BazookaTooth707]

I think he might be the most complete heavyweight that has ever competed in MMA. Let's see if he can put it all together tomorrow

[@DecoreHQ]

Hard to root against either of those two guys but I can't help it, GO ASPINALL!

[@jrjames7453]

Listening to Tom Proper Chills me Out! After a long day my head was spinning. Found this and I'm mellow, Great content great fighter 🏆

[@myopin1on618]

Lives within A 5 mile radius of me warrior with a British heart

[@RickyHodgson-re5jj]

Such a genuinely nice guy,real honesty is something you just don’t see or hear much nowadays,win lose or draw!I know it matters to you tom,of course it does,and I know even if you don’t get the w on the night you will be back for your gold and I couldn’t pick anyone else who deserves it more in my opinion,good luck mate 👍

[@gregoryrobertson]

Great interview. Well done. UFC needs more of this.

[@ondrejstellar4702]

Tom is such a humble, nice, down to earth guy, yet so talented. Such a great role model warrior. Nothing but respect for him and wishing him good luck in the upcoming fight. Would love to see him being the champion!

[@clydepinel3261]

Tom is just such a great guy. Was going to ask if he wanted to come to my wedding. I once saw him in passing, didn’t speak to him, but he changed my life. Just seeing him made me believe in hope again:

[@drizzt8965]

Great comment.

[@mooncat.787]

Good grief. Are you OK ?

[@t.d6379]

Same sex wedding?

[@mooncat.787]

@@drizzt8965 Are YOU OK ?

[@isaacpepper5224]

lol @@t.d6379

[@XTSu-sl1bb]

Nice to see people doing well. Good luck Tom, I hope you win the belt!

[@jamesgee474]

And the New interim champ is Tom Aspinall such a nice down to earth and humble guy come on England x

[@mooncat.787]

Appears to be a genuinely lovely fella. Wishing you all the very best Tom lad. Every Manchester MMA fight fan seems to be behind you.

[@jonashielm1834]

A genuine decent and good guy. I really respect him and so humble and grounded 🙏

[@FionnCr]

Iv been the biggest fan of Tom ever since i saw his fight which was yesterday

[@JohnnyCarterMusicOfficial]

Prepare yourself people, for real. I genuinely believe Tom Aspinall is truly special, and more than capable of beating Jon Jones. I truly believe Tom has what it takes to be the greatest heavy weight of all time !

[@daveh9080]

I completely agree. I do believe Tom does not have a ceiling as to how good he could be. The ONLY thing that worries me with Tom is he’s almost too aggressive. When he fought blades (I know he got injured) but I feel like he was a little Reckless with those exchanges, If he does that with the Russian, it could be A quick KO for Sergei. Other than that, I don’t see a hole in Tom’s game and I hope he goes far in the UFC.

[@JohnnyCarterMusicOfficial]

I dunno man, I feel that's exactly what make shim the potential best ever. His energy is also just different, I don't know how to explain it@@daveh9080

[@thepeoplebrothers8017]

Love from Oxford TA ❤

[@SPIDERM0OSE]

"Eeeee by eck, Im just poppin down to the garage to fill the car up n next week Im gonna finish Pavlovich inside 4" Its hard not to like the North West English down to earth, matter of fact attitude.

[@jeffclark6202]

This is what I call a quality man who happens to be a great athlete. We need more Tom's in the world.

[@CaseyKCRichards]

I love Tom, i just hope he has the experience to tactically win and hold his nerve that he is not overwhelmed by the process.

[@FightCapitalGlobal]

great piece!

[@andrewSUN17]

Good one...Tom and John are great blokes...Tom and Sergei will be fireworks!

[@red-uk5vv]

Tom is extremely likeable. Top bloke. Aspinal and Edwards all the way

[@BazookaTooth707]

Tom is such a great role model. Class act through in through. I strive to be as positive and humble as him. Good luck tomorrow

[@danielgonzalez-yp7hi]

The head rest placement on these 2 are like they’re in different cars , 😂.

[@BladeM8]

Let’s go Tom! Big fan of Pavlovich too but you’ve got this my guy take your chance 🇬🇧💪💥

[@peterbalac1915]

Any father with a grown young man especially in this environment wouldn't hesitate to talk his lad out of this fight, he obviously thinks his boy stands a very good chance of winning this fight good luck team Aspinal ❤

[@WhatDemocracy]

Damn I love tom. The guys got it all. Thankfully we have another UK MMA fighter we can be proud of..

[@Onlybadtakes2589]

Love that its part of his daily routine, dude had limited time to train so a complete sitdown interview would taken some time away from training

[@stujoker]

Great stuff, Tom is a great bloke and huge congratulations

[@enbonj5842]

Dudes an absolute beast

[@colincolin5696]

Really don’t care who wins this fight both of these guys are class. Seeing this insight more on how Tom is as a person makes you want to support him even more. Same with pav he’s a class guy who seems to have no bad side apart from in the cage. Can’t wait for this war.

[@lordofthesuperchargedgiraffes]

Proper sound guy. Mad when watching this knowing this guy is from atherton, the town next to mine, tyldesley. Not much happens around here 😂 all the best mate, keep going, onwards and upwards

[@kianoandniko]

Tom will be a great CHAMPION and is a great example for young fighters

[@motorhead4870]

Praying for you Tom 🙏🏻 you seem like a really nice genuine guy

[@damianmckenna9899]

Massive Tom fan...just wish he would have had a full camp fight camp to prepare, especially as for belt and very dangerous opponent...but still think he gets the win💪

[@wemoveforward6413]

Excellent video. Love big tom

[@bandobabyhovmtv]

Respect Tom 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Regardless of W or L in the fight you’re winning in life 🍻

[@standardFifa]

You're a good man Tom, all the best pal

[@mirabajer6514]

Big support from Czech Tom

[@daveandsamfamilyvlogs]

Top bloke proper humble and he is future champ

[@tenzindhondupofficial]

Another heavyweight on rise 🙌

[@loksins]

lets go big tom

[@KTRomero-lb2wp]

I like Sergei been watching him for a while now, but I couldn’t hate Tom even if i tried. I’ve never heard Tom not once trash talk a opponent, that’s how respectful this dude is

[@coffeeyouu]

Tom you can do it man!!!!! 🤙🦾🦿

[@tonymaccaroni5744]

This will be an amazing fight night.

[@partybiscuit]

So grounded champ

[@savaloy666999]

Keep that chin tucked, son, and you got this! Scary how he leaves his chin out there, sometimes, and he's been lucky so far, but he won't get away with that fighting Pav. Besides that, GO TOM! 🥊🦁🥊

[@TheTrueWelshIdiot]

It's an overused narrative this. You don't need to move your chin if you are not in range. Tom uses footwork to judge distance (plenty of boxers do this), not head movement. I'm not saying it's not dangerous, but of far more concern should be how Pavlovich closes distance.

[@mattthompson3714]

Tom leaves me in hives seeing him leave that protruding chin of his out as he does

[@Lager]

Tom Aspinall is a top bloke, simple as

[@pierregodeau4286]

Lets go Tom 👊🏼💪🏽

[@mickmack8999]

Go on Tom lad 🤞

[@ciankenny5545]

King Tom Aspinall is all I wanna hear

[@JohnnyCarterMusicOfficial]

I truly believe he has what it takes to be the best of all time and beat Jon Jones but im sure Jon will retire before he has to fight Tom and Francis

[@5pintwonder869]

What a lovely bloke he is

[@rugbyleaguebanterer4354]

He drove past top of my street get in haha! Tom deserved that win, he proves its nice to be important, bit its more important to be nice. Top man Tom 👏🤛

[@waltermartin8892]

Lets Fn Gooooo TOM!!!!!!

[@holyfieldism]

Top man Tom is a humble new world champ.👍

[@AW-lq9bf]

Tom is making that Range Rover look like a hatch back 😂

[@JasonAhrendt]

2 weeks notice is really crazy, UFC do this all the time ... There needs to be preparation a lot more than 2 weeks... Insane and not fair on the fighters!

[@Neuby1130]

Tom is the best inside and out of the octagon. Thought he would be a champ after his first UFC fight...nobody moves like that at 6'5". His son is also autistic and he is starting to drive the awareness so he will become a huge ambassador there as well.

[@tdyerwestfield]

I want nothing more than to see Aspinall fighting for the title. The real title.

[@oTRxDuBZY]

GOOD LUCK BROTHER

[@XoXo475]

Tom might just be the most down to Earth fighter out there next to Dan Hooker . I’m friends with Tom’s cousins co-workers sister in-law . Quality show and John Gooden is an excellent host!

[@Gayleem]

Yeah I’m mates with toms dads dentists girlfriends brothers son in laws mates former school teachers cousin

[@aaronw717]

Let’s go Tom 👍

[@ItsameAlex]

At the beginning are they talking about Sean Shelby or Hunter Cambell? I wish he would say the name of the UFC brass person he's talking about

[@r5gtturbo197]

Imagine Tom never loses a fight and beats Jon jones in a trilogy fight over the next 10 years , that would be amazing

[@BazookaTooth707]

Jones will not be around much longer

[@joeballs168]

Hope you bring the belt home Tommy boy! Let’s go 🇬🇧

[@r8m8s8]

Cmon Tom Cmon!!

[@minteherms6784]

If Tom aspinal wins this weekend and jon jones wins, the fight between Tom and Jon would be one of the most intriguing fights ever. And i think that Tom aspinal has everything to beat Jon jones. The question is will Jon jones at this point in his career take the risk to fight Tom and loose everything ( title and "undefeated streak"). Certainly hope the fight happens

[@Phiziology]

It's hard not to love Tom Aspinall. He's gonna get the strap, lets go!

[@nickdryhurst]

Tom is a true gent. He’s already caused some damage in this sport . Friendly giant!. Going to the top!.

[@Pretendship]

get em told lad

[@scottsemrau2942]

I think tom is gonna win. Hes more well rounded in his game.

[@Tacsmoker]

@TomAspinall your destiny is here 👊

[@mufcuk8512]

Love Tom top lad

[@fraserlewis6905]

And the new ufc heavy weight champion of the world

[@kieran6417]

Win or lose the fans are gonna see one of the best fights of all time.

[@Tonysopranoyafinook]

tom gets sparked round 1 trying to td a tree.....

[@stambo1983]

​@@TonysopranoyafinookOverreem tripped him and finished him.

[@keithygeorge7185]

Driving round our town St Helens the little toilet ha. Good luck tom

[@regtheripper9789]

Tom the hole uk is behind you bro come on tom big love

[@Disinfo321]

£50 on aspinall. Nice parlay of Aspinall & Tony Ferguson too

[@richwebb8424]

bad camera work showing Tom drinking whilst driving should have panned away ,,, what a bloke though brilliant fight well done you make the UK proud so humble like a martial artist should be.

[@psk9664]

Russian Grizzly Bear vs British Bulldog UFC 295 let's go

[@Cr0wsMurd3r]

Tom Aspinall, future champ... no doubt.

[@jodanbowers2871]

U won 50 on Saturday thanks pal 😊

[@plasticbmw]

Cmon Aspinall let's get this done

[@chris.440]

I think I am more stressed about this fight than Tom, I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time, I genuinely believe Tom could beat Jon and Stipe, the winner of this fight is the champion, period.

[@lg2092]

I like both guys but im british so obviously gonna be rooting for big tom, this is gonna be a tough fight I hope he didn't take this on too late notice

[@kevinpan1267]

Trained with Rico ❤

[@sirteabag8652]

Get used to seeing his face people. That's the greatest martial artist to ever live.

[@bryanpinto4051]

You are funny.

[@sirteabag8652]

@@bryanpinto4051 Your parents must've hated the look of you or they're thick because they spelt your name wrong Brian 🤣

[@1jakedizzle]

What about Chuck Norris?

[@sirteabag8652]

@@1jakedizzle Chuck Norris got beat by Bruce Lee, Bruce Lee got beat by Brad Pitt, Brad Pitt isn't got shit on Tom Aspinall.

[@sirteabag8652]

​@@bryanpinto4051 get used to seeing his face