Tom Aspinall beats former UFC heavyweight champion

On the back of quick-fire victories over Jake Collier and Alan Baudot, the 27-year-old, from Atherton, kicked off the main card of UFC Vegas 19 by forcing his veteran opponent to submit through a second-round rear naked choke.

Aspinall made his intentions clear early, immediately taking the centre of the cage and daring Arlovski to engage in a striking match.

Tom vows to learn lessonsThe 42-year-old took the bait and paid for it, getting caught with a heavy strike which allowed Aspinall to unleash a barrage of quick-fire punches.

However, Arlovski withstood the early barrage and managed to catch his younger opponent with a few clean shots as the first round drew to a close.

As Arlovski tried to resume the striking match, Aspinall switched up his strategy and forced the Belarusian-American up against the cage with a double leg takedown.

Arlovski attempted to escape the Englishman's clutches, but in doing so gave Aspinall a window to take his back. He did just that, sinking in a rear naked choke and forcing Arlovski to tap out 1:09 into the second round.

Before lockdown, Aspinall taught Jiu Jitsu at Wigan's Elite Fitness Factory, the gym owned by his Team Kaobon pal and fellow UFC fighter Mike Grundy.

He won his previous two UFC fights in the opening rounds.