Tom Aspinall gave out a few end-of-year awards in the immediate aftermath of UFC 323.
The heavyweight champion watched the final UFC pay-per-view of 2025, and perhaps ever, from the comfort of his own home on Sunday morning.
Tom Aspinall was stunned to see his favorite Merab Dvalishvili lose against Petr Yan in the main event.
The 32-year-old struggled to watch a replay of the arm injury that saw Alexandre Pantoja’s flyweight title reign end in the co-headliner.
Aspinall turned his attention to another MMA superstar when he was done watching UFC 323.
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Who is your UFC Fighter of the Year?
Tom Aspinall raves about Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria only fought once this year, but did enough to leave a lasting impression on Tom Aspinall.
The former featherweight king brutally knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317 in June.
As far as Aspinall is concerned, that win is enough to bag Topuria two prestigious end-of-year awards.
“The fighter that stands out for me is Ilia Topuria,” the Englishman said when asked to name the best fighter of 2025.
“I just think he’s unbelievable.”
He added about KO of the Year: “The ones that stand out for me are the events I was at.
“So, I’m a little bit biased, but Topuria vs Charles Oliveira.
“It’s one of the best knockouts I’ve ever seen live.
“The atmosphere that night was f—ing incredible.
“So, I’m going to go for that this year.”
Ilia Topuria set for layoff
It was recently announced that Paddy Pimblett will face Justin Gaethje for an interim lightweight title.
Hours before the UFC 324 main event was announced, Ilia Topuria ruled himself out of action for the time being.
“I won’t be fighting in the first quarter of next year,” he wrote on social media.
“I’m going through a difficult moment in my personal life. I want to focus on my children and resolve this situation as soon as possible.
“I don’t want to hold up the division. The UFC will make the matchups needed, and as soon as the matters are resolved, I’ll let the UFC know I’m ready to begin my return.”
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