Tom Aspinall is best known for his dominance inside the Octagon. As the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, his fights average a duration of just two minutes and two seconds. Yet, there’s much more to the Englishman than his success in the sport. Outside the cage, the 32-year-old has a deep passion for body art. Over the years, Aspinall has covered himself nearly head to toe in tattoos, each one marking a different chapter of his life. 

On his YouTube channel last year, he revealed that his first tattoo—originally, a tribal design on his right arm—came when he was just 15. Since then, he’s reworked and added to it four times, refining his body art as he evolved as a fighter and a person. With such a strong connection to tattoos, who better than Tom Aspinall to weigh in on the ink sported by other fighters? This includes the legendary Brock Lesnar and more.

There’s one tattoo Tom Aspinall wouldn’t get

Speaking to the Oni-masked fighter, Shakiel Mahjouri of SHAK MMA couldn’t help but praise Tom Aspinall’s extensive body art, prompting a lighthearted discussion about tattoos across the MMA world. “I’ve got some bad ones myself,” Aspinall admitted with a laugh. “I’m the first one to say that, but I like tattoos… I mean, it’s pretty rare that I don’t like a tattoo, to be honest.”

Mahjouri then showed him a photo of his former opponent Alexander Volkov’s back tattoo—a samurai helmet design covering up Volkov’s old manta ray piece. “That’s a very nice tattoo. Yeah, very nice,” said Aspinall, who submitted Volkov in the first round back in March 2022. The conversation rolled on to Sean O’Malley’s owl tattoo on his chest.

“It suits him. I like it as well,” Aspinall said. Mahjouri then moved on to Brock Lesnar’s infamous sword tattoo, which Lesnar has claimed he got because “I felt like life was holding a sword right up against my throat.” Yet, the English heavyweight stayed humble. “Like I said, it’s pretty rare that I don’t like a tattoo. This is good. I quite like it. I think it suits him,” Aspinall remarked.

When Mahjouri presented Alan Belcher’s notorious Johnny Cash tattoo, Aspinall lit up. “That is a classic,” he said during the interview. “I actually love Johnny Cash.” While he admitted the piece didn’t quite do the music legend justice, he respected the choice. “Would I personally get that? No. But if he wants to get it. Look, it’s his arm. If he wants to get it, he should do it.”

Tattoos from other fighters aside, Aspinall is slated to face Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on October 25. It will be his first title defense since he acquired the belt after Jon Jones retired from MMA. Coming back to tattoos, there’s an interesting story behind Aspinall’s own back tattoo—one that’s drawn comparisons to Volkov’s and fueled plenty of online chatter.

Did Aspinall steal Volkov’s tattoo?

It’s been a running joke among fans ever since Tom Aspinall debuted his new back tattoo following his win over Alexander Volkov in March 2022. The striking resemblance between the two designs didn’t go unnoticed, with many playfully suggesting that the UFC heavyweight champion copied his former opponent’s ink.

When asked about the speculation in an interview with The New York Post, Aspinall couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe I did—maybe I didn’t,” he joked. “The plan is to get the full torso done. But the back’s just next on the agenda. I’ve got the chest done. The arms are done. I didn’t want to get the stomach done just yet.”

He clarified that any similarity was purely coincidental, though he kept the humor alive. “It’s a kind of similar tattoo style as well. So yeah, I didn’t steal it. Or maybe I did. I don’t know,” Aspinall said with a grin.

It appears, regardless of how bad a tattoo is, there’s a good chance Tom Aspinall will like it. But do you agree with him? What do you think about Aspinall’s tattoos?