Tom Aspinall has Manchester United dream as UFC champion sets out future ambition

UFC's interim world heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has revealed he is pushing hard to secure a homecoming fight with Manchester United's Old Trafford earmarked as the dream venue.

Aspinall shocked the MMA world when he defeated Sergei Pavlovich at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Atherton-born fighter had the odds stacked against him from the outset having been given limited time to prepare for the bout while also having to tackle visa issues.

After his victory, Aspinall dedicated the result to his father Andy who left his job to teach his son MMA when the UFC champion was 18. In an interview with MEN Sport, the 30-year-old admitted he had not realised at the time how big a sacrifice his dad had made but now his ambition is to become an inspiration for the next generation in Manchester.

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"I had a pretty normal upbringing, nothing spectacular, pretty working class, pretty normal," he explained. "I went to school and I was training then from about eight years old. School and training (was my life) and then weekends with friends.

"It wasn’t big for me at the time (when his dad stepped in to be his coach), it was normal for me, I didn’t really know any different. But now looking back I realise it was a big thing. Martial Arts is a thing that all my family are involved in. Me, my dad and my brother have been involved in it forever."

He added: "I think the result is big (for Manchester), I do think it is but I think there are bigger things to come from me. I think this is just the start of my run as a champion to be honest.

"As a 30-year-old heavyweight I am really young, really fresh in my career, I don’t