Tom Aspinall’s training partner laughs off ‘hilarious’ criticism that could be key at UFC 321… ‘Keep believing that’

Modestas Bukauskas says he won’t be surprised if people continue to question Tom Aspinall after UFC 321

At UFC 321 on October 25, Tom Aspinall will face Ciryl Gane in the first defense of his undisputed heavyweight title.

There are some similarities between the two heavyweight stars in that they don’t necessarily fight like the vast majority of the competitors in their weight class.

If there’s one advantage that the challenger has in this matchup, it’s his experience of going the full five rounds inside the Octagon, having been the distance on three occasions.

There have been questions about Gane’s commitment ahead of this fight, but he is the competitor that we’ve seen a lot more of in the UFC.

In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, Aspinall’s training partner, Modestas Bukauskas, previewed the fight and responded to some of the doubts that people have about the champion’s cardio and experience and whether they could potentially be weaknesses.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Tom catches him early and again, people are still going to be talking about the same things anyways… “I just think it’s hilarious when people say, ‘Oh well, we don’t know how his gas tank is going to be’. Why the hell does he need to test himself in that area when, like I say, he lands the shots at the perfect time and he gets it going.

“He has never looked fatigued ever in his career… When people say that he can’t go four or five rounds, I mean, keep believing that because when he goes out and shows it, people are then going to completely change their opinions.”

Modestas Bukauskas knew that his UFC Paris matchup would happen sooner or later

At UFC Paris this weekend, Modestas Bukauskas looks to extend his winning streak in the light heavyweight division to four when he takes on Paul Craig.

Given how long both men have been competing in the light heavyweight division as two of Europe’s standouts, it’s surprising that their paths haven’t crossed until now.

Bukauskas told Bloody Elbow that even he was questioning when he would eventually receive a contract that had Craig’s name on it.

“I feel like this was a fight that was a long time coming. I was wondering when they were possibly going to make a fight like this happen. Obviously, he’s been doing very well and being high up in the rankings so it probably would have been a little bit longer for me to get to that stage but finally they made the clash happen. I knew it was going to happen at some point.”