UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall didn’t let bias get in the way of his opinion on Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury outcome.
Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) became undisputed heavyweight champion when he edged out Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) by split decision this past Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Aspinall, who has trained with Fury before, thinks the right fighter got his hand raised on the night.
“Irrelevant of who you thought won, we won as viewers,” Aspinall told talkSPORT MMA. “I think it was an amazing fight from both guys. So much skill, so much heart and determination from both guys. If you would’ve asked me who I think won, it was well justified Usyk won, and that’s coming from someone who’s known Tyson for a long time.”
Fury disagreed with the outcome and plans on exercising the rematch clause in the contract. Aspinall thinks their back-and-forth battle warrants a second fight.
“I think Usyk won it fair and square, and I’d like to see a rematch,” Aspinall continued. “That’s heavyweight combat sports. To me, after the first four rounds, Usyk started to look a bit flat, but maybe that was just Usyk taking his foot off the gas. I don’t know. Tyson started coming on a bit and then before you know it, Usyk nearly stopped him in the ninth and then it was all downhill for Tyson.”
Aspinall defends his interim title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-headliner July 27 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
