UFC star Tom Aspinall has fired back at Chael Sonnen for criticising his lack of trash-talk, insisting that he doesn't need to act like a "clown" for money.
Aspinall is one of the UFC's brightest talents and finds himself ranked at No.6 in the heavyweight division after just five fights in the promotion. The Atherton-based fighter lets his fighting do the talking and refuses to bad-mouth any of his fellow fighters in the promotion.
His humble approach to fighting has been criticised by MMA analyst and commentator Chael Sonnen, who was notorious for trash-talking during his UFC career. Aspinall replied to Sonnen's comments by stating that he is more than happy staying true to himself.
“I’m more than happy being myself thanks and not selling myself out and acting like a [clown] for views and money,” Aspinall 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.”
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Sonnen said that Aspinall has put him in a "hard spot" because of his the way he conducts interviews. The now-retired fighter has previously hailed Aspinall as the future as the heavyweight division, but thinks he is underselling his skillset.
"Tom Aspinall, you're putting me in a hard spot," Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. "Aspinall does interviews like a 13-year-old fan. I've been telling people for a long time that this is the guy.
"Quickly, his manager, his team, for God's sake his father is going to read the interview and sit him down in private to say 'don't ever do this again'. He is underselling himself, and by the way, he's now a main-eventer. He's in a very rare club now that he has main-evented in a heavyweight class that barely has 20 guys who could fog a mirror."
Aspinall headlines his second UFC event in July, challenging Curtis Blaydes in the promotion's return to London. Sonnen said that if was the promoter, he wouldn't book Aspinall in a main event spot again because of his lack of confidence.
"[If I'm the promoter] I can't put him back in a main event or a title fight or anything that he says he doesn't belong in, nobody can," Sonnen added. "We've put him there and done everything we can possibly do, got him the media opportunities and then he fanboys out and puts over Francis Ngannou. What are we doing here and why are we doing it?"
