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Jiri Prochazka dropped the ball in Miami, and Tom Aspinall is getting flak. Confused?
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Kaseya Center in Miami bore witness to a buzzing moment that elevated Carlos Ulberg’s stature at the expense of Tom Aspinall. As Ulberg showcased resilience to beat Jiri Prochazka with an injured leg at UFC 327, fans drew parallels with one of Aspinall’s fights. And that seemingly had many questioning the heavyweight champion’s zeal to fight through adversities.
Carlos Ulberg and Jiri Prochazka stepped into the Octagon at UFC 327 with the vacant light heavyweight title at stake. For the Kiwi fighter, it was his first opportunity to win the belt. Meanwhile, Prochazka would have become a two-time champion if he won. However, it was Ulberg’s clinical striking and determination that came in between.
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Moments into the fight, ‘Black Jag’ injured his right leg after taking an awkward step back. But limping through it, he continued the bout. Prochazka, who was well aware of Ulberg’s adversity, seemingly failed to capitalize despite the advantage. Eventually, before the end of the opening round, Ulberg finished the Czech fighter with a clean counter left hook. And he became the new 205-pound king.
However, amid the buzzing moment, it drew attention to UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Notably, in 2022, the Brit had a similar leg injury during his fight against Curtis Blaydes. However, unlike Ulberg, Aspinall couldn’t continue as the Brit stepped awkwardly on his leg after a low kick, causing him to fall in pain and immediately grab his knee.
Tom aspinall quit against blades with a hurt knee while this kid KO Jiri…the excuses made for Thomas are running out. https://t.co/L1C4TMiOHP
— MAMBA (@Balldontlie05) April 12, 2026
Later, Aspinall was diagnosed with a torn MCL, torn meniscus, and some ACL damage. Meanwhile, although Ulberg noted that his knee “blew out”, the final scan results about his injury are yet to be revealed. However, a sports doctor has likened it to an ACL tear.
Maybe the severity of Aspinall’s condition was higher, which meant he couldn’t continue. However, fans took it as an opportunity to refute Aspinall’s stature as a champion and a fighter.
Fans draw parallels between Tom Aspinall and Carlos Ulberg’s injuries
When everyone was lauding Carlos Ulberg‘s UFC 327 victory over Jiri Prochazka, a fan brought attention to Tom Aspinall. “Tom Aspinall quit against Blaydes with a hurt knee, while this kid KO Jiri…the excuses made for Thomas are running out,” the netizen wrote on X.
Meanwhile, another netizen poked fun at the Brit for being a comparatively soft champion. “Definitely can’t stand that paper champ, he needs to go,” the fan wrote. This particular assessment may also have been fueled by Tom Aspinall‘s UFC 321 controversy, where he quit after suffering eye pokes from Ciryl Gane.
Aspinall’s then-rival Jon Jones said in a November 2025 podcast appearance, “When Tom gets hurt, he’s like immediately incapacitated. Immediately. It’s like you poke my eye, there was no like [trying to blink it out]. I would have been the silliest looking cat on national TV [blinking my eyes] trying [to continue].”
Jones further added, “He did the same thing with Curtis Blaydes when he hurt his knee. There was no limping. There was no trying to get up. He was just immediately ‘burn my village, I can’t go on!’
“He immediately quits. When he got tapped out with an ankle lock [in his first loss], there was no trying to fight his hands. He immediately quit. Immediately.” Are we seeing a pattern here?
Many questioned the UFC heavyweight champion’s zeal to win a fight after the UFC 321 incident. “Aspinall is not built like that. He does not have that dog in him,” a user commented. However, amid that, there were also a few sharing different opinions.
Since the severity of Ulberg’s injury is yet to be confirmed, many felt the situation for both may be different. “Completely different injuries, like the equivalent of having a car with a flat tire or a car with no wheels,” a fan noted. But mainly, they asserted that being distinct individuals, Ulberg and Aspinall might be different.
“Different humans, different pain tolerance,” a netizen commented. Despite that, a group of fans also felt that Aspinall would quit more fights going forward. “Someone finally said it. Tom would’ve immediately started crying on the ground. He doesn’t have that warrior spirit, and he’ll be exposed soon enough,” a user wrote.
Quite an interesting take. But that’s what some of the fans have felt about Aspinall lately, even though the champion cannot be held at fault. But of course, those closer to the Brit, like 2017 Strongman champion Eddie Hall, knew how affected the UFC heavyweight champion was. On that note, it will be interesting to see how Aspinall would shut such noise around his stature in his return.
Written by
Edited by
Yeswanth Praveen