2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Aaron Morris)
Tom Aspinall saw a man bite off another's nose while he was working the doors as a bouncer. The 31-year-old MMA fighter from Atherton rose to UFC prominence after securing the interim heavyweight title by defeating Sergei Pavlovich with a first-round knockout in November 2023. But not long ago, he bolstered his income as a bouncer in north west England.
Recalling his days on the doors on Michael Bisping's Believe You Me podcast, Aspinall shared an outrageous event he witnessed, saying: "I used to work the door on a really nice bar, and I was the s***est doorman ever - I didn't do anything. Unless people were throwing punches at each other, I wouldn't do anything. I was the worst.
" However, Aspinall also detailed that checking on a neighbouring doorman one night led to a gruesome discovery. He said: "As we run in, a guy is biting another guy's nose off, and then he went to spit it out. As he was going to spit it out, his friend said, 'Don't spit it out because he'll be able to sew it back on'.
So the guy then swallowed his nose. That's a true story, I couldn't make that up." When quizzed by Bisping about the aftermath, Aspinall revealed: "He swallowed it.
I've never seen him since, I don't know," reports the Mirror . Fortunately for Aspinall in the UFC, his main concern regarding his nose is the risk of it being broken from strikes, as biting has been strictly prohibited since the organisation's inception in 1993. This rule was fully enforced last year when Igor Severino was disqualified for biting Andre Lima during the second round of his debut match in March.
The incident occurred when the two Brazilians were clinched against the cage and Severino bit into Lima's bicep, prompting referee Chris Tognoni to immediately end the bout. Lima was declared the winner by disqualification, displaying visible teeth marks on his inner arm while his hand was being raised in victory. But the drama didn't end there, with Dana White awarding the fighter a £38,000 'Bite of the Night' bonus to add a humorous twist to the situation.
The boxer even went as far as getting the bite mark permanently tattooed onto his arm, accompanied by the text: "I got f***ing bit bonus." On the other hand, Severino faced repercussions for his actions, being released by the UFC and receiving a nine-month ban from the Nevada Athletic Commission, which came to an end in December. Aspinall is gearing up for what could be the most pivotal fight of his career, aiming to unify his interim UFC heavyweight title in a clash with heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Discussing the potential match-up, Aspinall said: "We are actually waiting for news. I'm chasing it up. "The UFC is saying it is going to happen.
I'm chasing it all the time, and I want the fight to be really bad." He added: "I am currently ranked No. 1 in the world, which is amazing.
But I want to be known as the best. This is where the UFC separates from boxing. "In boxing, you have a million divisions, and you've got five or six champions at each weight, and it's like, this guy's a world champion, what about this guy, oh this guy.
I think you should have one face, one name, every division and I obviously want it to be me. "The problem isn't with Jon, the problem is he's sitting on the belt and not doing anything. So I think that I want to be known as the guy at heavyweight.
Or at least have a shot, like give me a shot, give me the opportunity to do it, and I think I can do it." Jones, who previously reigned over the light-heavyweight division, claimed the heavyweight championship with a first-round submission against Cyril Gane in March 2023, followed by successfully defending his title against Stipe Miocic with a third-round TKO last November. Holding a record of 28-1, the MMA community is keen to see if Aspinall will get his chance to prove himself against a fighter many hail as the sport's GOAT.
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