Tom Aspinall speaks on UFC London win over Alexander Volkov: “It couldn’t have gone any better”

Tom Aspinall made quite the statement at UFC London.

This past Saturday (March 19), Aspinall and Alexander Volkov shared the Octagon inside The O2 Arena. While this was expected to be Aspinall’s toughest test to date, he made it look all too easy. Aspinall got his opponent to the ground and secured the first-round submission via straight armlock.

Speaking to reporters during the UFC London post-fight press conference, Tom Aspinall said everything went according to plan (h/t MMAFighting.com).

“It couldn’t have gone any better. That was the ideal performance. I truly thought I was gonna go five rounds. To get a guy like Volkov — who has been finished twice [in the UFC] — out of there in the first round, just shows credit to my finishing ability. My finishing ability is highest of the high level.

“[It was] everything I dreamed of and more. Unbelievable. I see a lot of media and s*** like that, ‘Oh, he’s gonna feel the pressure when he fights in front of a crowd. Oh, he’s gonna feel the pressure with Volkov who is a veteran.’ Other people might feel the pressure. Other people are not me. I’m different.”

With the win over Volkov, Aspinall has now extended his winning streak to eight. He hasn’t lost a fight since May 2016 when he was disqualified against Lukasz Parobiec due to an illegal downward elbow.

Aspinall has beaten the likes of Volkov, Andrei Arlovski, Sergey Spivak, and Jake Collier in his UFC run. Aspinall has gone 5-0 under the UFC banner. After his win at UFC London, Aspinall respectfully called out Tai Tuivasa.

As for Volkov, he’s suffered the second loss in his last three fights. He will also fall in the UFC heavyweight rankings. He held the sixth spot going into the bout with Aspinall, who was ranked number 11.