UFC hero 'won't sell out and act like a clown'

The 29-year-old- who will again headline next month's second London supercard of the year against Curtis Blaydes - has so far been content to do his talking in the ring.

That led to promoter Chael Sonnen, speaking on his 'Beyond the Fight' podcast, claiming he'd been 'disgusted' with a recent interview where Aspinall bigged up a rival.

“He comes out and does an interview...I can’t remember what was said, I was disgusted, I ended up shutting the page...talking about, ‘Who wouldn’t want to see Ngannou box? Ngannou’s just a great boxer’,’” said Sonnen.

“He went on from there, put some other people over. He’s a legitimate fan.

"I do understand that in all fairness and he does come off as a very sweet guy, that is true.

"Tom actually is coming off like a really nice guy, I must tell the other side of the coin.

“(But) I can’t put him back in a main event. I can’t put him in a title shot.

"I can’t put him in anything that he says he doesn’t belong in. Nobody can.”

Aspinall, who hails from Atherton, and has coached Jiu Jitsu at Elite Fitness Factory in Wigan - the gym owned by his Team Kaobon mate Mike Grundy - took the criticism in typically laidback fashion.

“I’m more than happy being myself thanks and not selling myself out and acting like a clown for views and money,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I am not a WWE entertainer, I’m one of the greatest heavyweights to walk on this earth, and it will be shown in my body of work from my UFC debut until I retire in 10 years.

"I don’t need to talk s***. Happy to be myself.”