Media Tom Aspinall to Chael: "I Won't Sell Myself Out and Act Like a Clown"

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

" If Tom feels hey this is who I am, I got to be true to myself, we can do that. I don't want to be a dick about it but I sure could be easily Tom. I believe you're 27 years old and for 25 years you being Tom how'd that work out for you? Because you didn't get the education your parents wanted, you didn't have the job that you set out to go and do, you didn't have the notoriety; you're sleeping four deep in an apartment eating ham and beans. You're not fighting on main cards, you're not fighting on any cards, you're hoping to apply down at the park do we really want to do that is that really the message that you got go ahead its your career...?

(5:23-5:57)


Chael appears to feel Tom did not achieve an adequate level of personal and professional success prior to getting signed to the UFC two years ago, at 27 years old, for him to reject the unsolicited and bad faith advice of a successful individual like himself.

For context, at Tom's current age of 29 Chael was defrauding real estate clients, crimes for which he would earn his first felony conviction. It's also relevant that Chael, a 45 year old man, is currently unemployed after being suspended from ESPN earlier this year for allegedly punching a female stranger in the face.

Do you agree with Chael that Tom should take the advice of a successful man like him or should he continue to be himself?

 

[DjolexMTL]

Here we go again with the bitter thread titles. I'm not the biggest Chael fan but he's an ex-fighter, he's still self-employed and he has a million subscribers on a channel he grew from scratch.

Keep hating haha, you'll never be close to any of these things

 

[BrockLesnarsTurtleBack]

Chael is a terrible person and only has fans because he's a trash-talking white conservative.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Aspinall's humility is one of the things I like about him. He's actually become a little more... brash and self-confident in his last several media appearances even before beating Volkov, albeit not to the point of being arrogant. Really coming into his own and getting comfortable with who and where he is. It's been a pleasure to see.

Watching him try to play into some kind of unnatural heel act would be painful. I understand Chael is probably genuinely trying to be helpful, but he should stay in his lane.



Yeah because shooting up the Heavyweight rankings with a 100% early finish rate, playing up his connections to Fury, and headlining a card in his country where the people went crazy for him just reeks of stale boredom.

I think he's talking about becoming more of a global star. People think you have to be fake or something to promote yourself. There's many ways to promote yourself more, he doesn't have to act like Chael but you have to give people something while you aren't fighting to keep people's attention and try to gain more fan bases. HW division would be easy for him to break into since he already has his regional support. UFC's HW division needs some stand out stars and he could easily be that on his way to the title shot.

Conor was already a star before he won the title. He didn't wait until he became the champion to start promoting himself. Conor was promoting himself before he got into the UFC and once he got into the UFC he went all in with his self promotion.

 

[Cj Bernauer]

He fist fights in his underwear inside a cage in the centre of a large crowd in Las Vegas. Let’s not put ourselves too far ahead of “clown” humility wise.

 

[santiago]

Yeah, I agree w/ Aspinall. Chael is a clown, tired act, hard to listen to the guy even when he's not yapping. Aren't MMA fans getting tired of the yappers? It's a WWE type mess.

 

[KazDibiase]

We have enough big mouth cringey clowns already. Don't need anymore. Thank you Tom.

 

[1BadMF]

I like Aspinall and that attitude.

 

[Koro_11]

That is fine, he just won't ever be paid as well if he doesn't want to talk. Business decision. No one is asking him to be a bad person - just be entertaining.

He's knocking people out in every fight, is that not entertaining enough for you?

It's hilarious, "you gotta be more entertaining like Chael", meanwhile the guy can't finish a sandwich.

Some of you should just be watching trash talk, without the fights, just dudes being classless for entertainment.

 

[StreetJudas]

Being entertaining and yourself makes you a sellout? Lol

 

[Why did you]

Chael 'the real clown' Sonnen

 

[Safton]

I think he's talking about becoming more of a global star. People think you have to be fake or something to promote yourself. There's many ways to promote yourself more, he doesn't have to act like Chael but you have to give people something while you aren't fighting to keep people's attention and try to gain more fan bases. HW division would be easy for him to break into since he already has his regional support. UFC's HW division needs some stand out stars and he could easily be that on his way to the title shot.

Conor was already a star before he won the title. He didn't wait until he became the champion to start promoting himself. Conor was promoting himself before he got into the UFC and once he got into the UFC he went all in with his self promotion.

Yeah, I get it. Though I feel this has already been thoroughly addressed. He already has the tools to be marketable with what he's doing and the traits he possesses on the path he's on and not everyone is "global superstar" or household name material -- and forcing a heel schtick (what many people gravitate to) when you're not an asshole at heart or don't have a knack for it or the gift of gab to do it convincingly either won't move the needle at best or can be counter-productive in some cases at worst.

Just one man's opinion.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Yeah, I get it. Though I feel this has already been thoroughly addressed. He already has the tools to be marketable with what he's doing and the traits he possesses on the path he's on and not everyone is "global superstar" or household name material -- and forcing a heel schtick (what many people gravitate to) when you're not an asshole at heart or don't have a knack for it or the gift of gab to do it convincingly either won't move the needle at best or can be counter-productive in some cases at worst.

Just one man's opinion.

I never said anything about him turning into a heel. Everyone fighter can benefit from more self promotion. More exposure brings more eyes and more attention. That equals higher fight purse. HW division in UFC is going through some changes currently and UFC is going to need a HW fighter for them to back promotionally. The opening is there for whatever HW up and comer wants that extra push.

I only brough up global star compared to regional star because they brought up him having home country support already. Having global support is always better than just regional support. It's also prize fighting, anything to that can help increase your fight purse isn't a bad thing. He doesn't have to be a heel, but he can probably do more to self-promote himself. He's in a spot currently where he's at the top of the division and potential champion in the future. He can start doing a lot of self promotion now on his way to the title shot.

I think a lot of fighters think UFC will just do the promotion for them and do more promotion for them once they are the champion. But UFC has favorites, so even if you are champion you may not get the promotional support compared to another fighter they would rather be the champion. Lots of examples of this from the past with previous champions. This is why it's important for fighters to promote themselves and not only rely on the promotion to do it for them.

 

[Safton]

I never said anything about him turning into a heel. Everyone fighter can benefit from more self promotion. More exposure brings more eyes and more attention. That equals higher fight purse. HW division in UFC is going through some changes currently and UFC is going to need a HW fighter for them to back promotionally. The opening is there for whatever HW up and comer wants that extra push.

I only brough up global star compared to regional star because they brought up him having home country support already. Having global support is always better than just regional support. It's also prize fighting, anything to that can help increase your fight purse isn't a bad thing. He doesn't have to be a heel, but he can probably do more to self-promote himself. He's in a spot currently where he's at the top of the division and potential champion in the future. He can start doing a lot of self promotion now on his way to the title shot.

I think a lot of fighters think UFC will just do the promotion for them and do more promotion for them once they are the champion. But UFC has favorites, so even if you are champion you may not get the promotional support compared to another fighter they would rather be the champion. Lots of examples of this from the past with previous champions. This is why it's important for fighters to promote themselves and not only rely on the promotion to do it for them.

That's why I said this: "and forcing a heel shtick (what many people gravitate to)". I know you weren't equating the two, but what I'm saying is that most people conflate self-promotion with recycling McGregor lines and trying to (poorly) trash-talk their future opponents or somehow being a controversial figure in the sport. It's become the go-to.

You keep saying that there are endless possibilities of self-promotion that he's leaving untapped. What, specifically, do you think those things are? What can Tom do, right now, that you think will raise his market value and let him become a global star? He's already an elite Heavyweight contender, undefeated in the UFC, with a 100% finish rate, who isn't afraid of name-dropping Tyson Fury here and there. Just by virtue of his origins he'll likely be connected to the likes of Till and Pimblett (both of which he has acknowledged in some way, one he trains with), who are both big primarily in England but have also grown to have some measure of global fandom.

I'm not trying to be facetious here, I'm genuinely curious to hear what you have to say. I'm not opposed to the idea that fighters can or should find ways to make money (within reason) given their pay, but it sounds like you have very specific ideas in mind.

 

[warriorfan808]

Hopefully he can get a following.

 

[xhaydenx]

This approach will likely be fine for Tom.

He's a HW, and a good one. HWs always get better spots on cards and always seem to get paid way more than everyone else. If he's right up there close to the top or becomes the champ, money ain't going to be a problem for this guy.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

That's why I said this: "and forcing a heel shtick (what many people gravitate to)". I know you weren't equating the two, but what I'm saying is that most people conflate self-promotion with recycling McGregor lines and trying to (poorly) trash-talk their future opponents or somehow being a controversial figure in the sport. It's become the go-to.

You keep saying that there are endless possibilities of self-promotion that he's leaving untapped. What, specifically, do you think those things are? What can Tom do, right now, that you think will raise his market value and let him become a global star? He's already an elite Heavyweight contender, undefeated in the UFC, with a 100% finish rate, who isn't afraid of name-dropping Tyson Fury here and there. Just by virtue of his origins he'll likely be connected to the likes of Till and Pimblett (both of which he has acknowledged in some way, one he trains with), who are both big primarily in England but have also grown to have some measure of global fandom.

I'm not trying to be facetious here, I'm genuinely curious to hear what you have to say. I'm not opposed to the idea that fighters can or should find ways to make money (within reason) given their pay, but it sounds like you have very specific ideas in mind.

He name drops Tyson Fury but he should have more content with Tyson Fury. Pictures from sparring sessions or a small sample video of their sparring where it's not making any of them look bad but just for promotional purposes. He's mentioned it a few times in mma media, but only mma fanbase watches mma media. He needs to have Tyson Fury posting some content with him as well because that's a whole other market that he will not be able to tap into without Tyson Fury's help. I'm sure many mma fans don't even know he sparred with Tyson Fury unless they are following his career to listen to his interviews. I only saw it because it was posted on this forum by someone following Aspinals career, not everyone that watches mma are on these forums so many will not have the same way of viewing that promo or getting that information. Social media posts/shares/reposts etc is what most people consume. He could start doing youtube videos like what other fighters do, now would be a good time for him to do that if he isn't already. On his way to the title shot he would be able to put out a lot of content here and there and do his own embedded style videos.

Jorge Masvidal has been doing these type of videos before he became a star, so fighters don't have to wait until they are champion to start with the self promotion. Masvidal never became champion and he became a cross over star. Other fighters can learn something from the self promotion that Masvidal and Nate Diaz does. They became stars and million dollar fight purses while not being a champion.

Of course he can do more interviews as well within mma community/fans/media. That's always good promo even when you aren't fighting. A lot of people seem to watch those interviews/podcasts from different mma media/content outlets.

 

[SixxAces]

Uncle Chael’s point was valid, he mentioned a specific interview where Tom was fanboying over Francis and Chael even wiped his mouth to illustrate his point……Tom is in the fight business and should use his interview times to prop himself up, not others…..I think Tom misconstrued this as Chael telling him to be rude to others, when in reality that’s not what Chael was saying.

 

[Safton]

He name drops Tyson Fury but he should have more content with Tyson Fury. Pictures from sparring sessions or a small sample video of their sparring where it's not making any of them look bad but just for promotional purposes. He's mentioned it a few times in mma media, but only mma fanbase watches mma media. He needs to have Tyson Fury posting some content with him as well because that's a whole other market that he will not be able to tap into without Tyson Fury's help. I'm sure many mma fans don't even know he sparred with Tyson Fury unless they are following his career to listen to his interviews. I only saw it because it was posted on this forum by someone following Aspinals career, not everyone that watches mma are on these forums so many will not have the same way of viewing that promo or getting that information. Social media posts/shares/reposts etc is what most people consume. He could start doing youtube videos like what other fighters do, now would be a good time for him to do that if he isn't already. On his way to the title shot he would be able to put out a lot of content here and there and do his own embedded style videos.

Jorge Masvidal has been doing these type of videos before he became a star, so fighters don't have to wait until they are champion to start with the self promotion. Masvidal never became champion and he became a cross over star. Other fighters can learn something from the self promotion that Masvidal and Nate Diaz does. They became stars and million dollar fight purses while not being a champion.

Of course he can do more interviews as well within mma community/fans/media. That's always good promo even when you aren't fighting. A lot of people seem to watch those interviews/podcasts from different mma media/content outlets.

I'm sure he's very open to doing that, but I suspect that the hold-up there is that Tyson Fury is a rather busy man who can't spend all his time being Aspinall's showpiece. I figured out about his connection to Fury the moment I learned Tom's name and they mention it on pretty much every UFC broadcast; it's not exactly a well-kept secret. He has actually been fairly active on YouTube. No idea if he has his own channel or not, but I've seen him appear in videos talking about everything from the state of the Heavyweight division's contenders to American beer. A lot of these have been MMA channels (the most popular ones, however), but I could easily see him parlaying these appearances into more widespread views/content.

I think he's just keeping his nose to the grindstone and his eye on the proverbial ball right now and not trying to overwhelm himself. He's an introspective guy who was talking about fighting someone like Blagoy Ivanov or Shamil of all people until Volkov got offered to him out of the blue -- and he took it with some hesitance only because of the exceptional nature of the opportunity.

I don't really disagree with any of your suggestions, but in my humble opinion you're maybe overselling the ease with which some of it could be accomplished. For what it's worth I do think Aspinall will end up doing some or potentially even a lot of this should he become champion (or get in the conversation). The guy is still trying to find his feet as an elite fighter. I know you and others would see this as wasted time, but I understand why he's doing it.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

I'm sure he's very open to doing that, but I suspect that the hold-up there is that Tyson Fury is a rather busy man who can't spend all his time being Aspinall's showpiece. I figured out about his connection to Fury the moment I learned Tom's name and they mention it on pretty much every UFC broadcast; it's not exactly a well-kept secret. He has actually been fairly active on YouTube. No idea if he has his own channel or not, but I've seen him appear in videos talking about everything from the state of the Heavyweight division's contenders to American beer. A lot of these have been MMA channels (the most popular ones, however), but I could easily see him parlaying these appearances into more widespread views/content.

I think he's just keeping his nose to the grindstone and his eye on the proverbial ball right now and not trying to overwhelm himself. He's an introspective guy who was talking about fighting someone like Blagoy Ivanov or Shamil of all people until Volkov got offered to him out of the blue -- and he took it with some hesitance only because of the exceptional nature of the opportunity.

I don't really disagree with any of your suggestions, but in my humble opinion you're maybe overselling the ease with which some of it could be accomplished. For what it's worth I do think Aspinall will end up doing some or potentially even a lot of this should he become champion (or get in the conversation). The guy is still trying to find his feet as an elite fighter. I know you and others would see this as wasted time, but I understand why he's doing it.

He could've done it during the many sparring sessions they had. Few seconds of video or a few seconds taking a picture pre or post sparring would've been enough. He could post the picture and tag Tyson Fury in it and Tyson Fury may post it on his own social media accounts. All relatively quick and easy to do and you don't have to ask for much in doing something like that.

I understand he's focused on the grind, most are focused only on the grind, but the promotion also helps for their careers. Yeah it may add more pressure or have you doing more stuff than just training, but when you get to the top it's filled with media so you have to get used to that type of extra work anyway. Better to start getting accustomed to that sooner than later. Plus if things don't work and you don't become a champion, you can still have a fanbase and people following your career even with losses. Some of the highest paid and most well known fighters in UFC were never a UFC champion, so that's something to think about. Imagine if they actually became champion, they would be even bigger than they currently are and even better paid.

The thing a lot of fighters don't realize is all that extra stuff is required at the top. Even Khabib had to get adjusted to all that and he started doing a lot of self promotion. He didn't have to fake it or try to be a heel, he just got more outspoken and started claiming what he thought was his and making challenges and call outs during his fights and post fights. Khabib was talking shit to Dana about Conor while fighting and in between rounds, then publicly calling him out and saying he's going to smash his boy in the post fight interview. That's also self promotion.

HW is wide open for a contender for UFC to push. Ngannou's future is uncertain, Gane already lost to Ngannou and had his shot at the title, Jones may eventually fight at HW but that is also still uncertain, Stipe is getting close to ending his career - so HW is wide open for a new contender for UFC to back since HW division is something they historically like to focus on. Aspinal can take advantage of this opportunity to really fast track his career and overall exposure.

Derrick Lewis is a prime example of a HW they backed and wanted to win the title and he was given many opportunities to try and win the title. They did a lot of promo work for Lewis and had events in his home state where he was the headliner for title fights. He's also one of the highest paid fighters in UFC and was never the champion. Derrick Lewis also did a lot of self promotion on top of UFC's push. Aspinal could do something very similar on his way to the title to increase his exposure and fight purse on his way up. Also if he doesn't succeed the first time they can always let him try again later like they did with Derrick Lewis, but the multiple attempts at the title only happens when UFC is backing you.