Tom Aspinall hits back at Chael Sonnen criticizing his promo skills: ‘I’m not a WWE performer’
Chael Sonnen has long been a defender of Tom Aspinall, but he’s unimpressed with the heavyweight contender’s personality.
During a recent episode of his Beyond the fight podcast, Sonnen criticized Aspinall for not doing a better job of promoting it in interviews. Aspinall – the No. 7 heavyweight in MMA Fighting’s world rankings – took a more measured approach to talking about himself as he racked up win after win, which didn’t exactly make the quotes and headlines. the juiciest.
“He comes out and does an interview – I can’t remember what was said, I was disgusted, I ended up closing the page – saying, ‘Who wouldn’t want to see Ngannou boxing? Ngannou is just a great boxer,” Sonnen said. “He went from there, put other people in. He’s a legit fan. I understand that in all honesty and he comes across as a really nice guy, that’s true. In fact, Tom presents himself as a really nice guy, I must say the other side of the coin.
“I can’t put it back in a main event. I can’t put him in a title shot. I can’t put him in anything he says he doesn’t belong in. No one can.
Sonnen suggested that Aspinall be dropped and coached by his team to improve his interviews, going so far as to say he could even get a manager to speak for him.
Aspinall responded to Sonnen’s comments via an Instagram Story and it doesn’t look like he’ll be changing his approach any time soon.
@tomaspinallofficial, Instagram
“I’m more than happy to be myself thanks and not sell myself and act like a [clown] for views and money,” Aspinall wrote. “I’m not a WWE performer, I’m one of the biggest heavyweights to step on [Earth] and that will be shown in my work from my early days in the UFC until my retirement in 10 years. I don’t need to talk shit. Happy to be myself.
Aspinall’s work in the cage so far speaks volumes about his star potential. The 29-year-old Englishman put in a breakthrough performance last March at UFC London in what was his first headlining opportunity. Aspinall defeated Alexander Volkov by first-round submission to electrify a sold-out crowd at The O2 and earn his fifth UFC victory in as many appearances for the promotion.
Next for Aspinall, he fights Curtis Blaydes in the main event of the UFC’s return to London on July 23.