Around this time last year, I wrote a piece for this website questioning the BBC overlooking Leon Edwards for their Sports Personality of the Year award. The Birmingham star had become the UFC Welterweight Champion by upsetting the great Kamaru Usman. I lamented the BBC’s lack of recognition for MMA in the face of less popular sports.
12 months later, another UFC nominee is warranted. Edwards’ majority decision over Usman in their March rematch is unlikely to be acknowledged on the ballot. That is perhaps fair. The result was less surprising the second time around and Usman has lost again since, to Khamzat Chimaev, taking some of the shine off the second win.
But there is a British UFC fighter who has made history this year, arguably surpassing Edwards’ own achievements from 2022. Tom Aspinall knocked out the fearsome Sergei Pavlovich for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship earlier this month. The stunning 69-second finish saw Aspinall become the first British fighter to win a heavyweight title in UFC history.
A trailblazing achievement clinched in the most spectacular fashion possible? Surely enough to live in the pantheon of British sport forever? You’d think so. But currently Betfred have Aspinall out at 25/1 to scoop the big award. Katarina Jordan-Thompson, the heptathlete who triumphed at the World Championship this past summer, is next at 16/1. Iconic jockey Frankie Dettori is 12/1 while cricket hero Stuart Broad is 11/4.
Current favourite is England goalkeeper Mary Earps, whose outstanding displays at the Women’s World Cup were only enhanced by her viral swearing moment. Earps is 4/7 with the bookmaker and looks nailed on for the gong.
This article is not intended to denigrate the achievements of those above Aspinall in the reckoning. Each and every name is an outstanding athlete in their own right. But Aspinall made history in one of the world’s most-watched sports. Mixed Martial Arts has waited too long for BBC acknowledgement, even if their Bellator coverage in recent years is a step in the right direction.
Aspinall suffered a nightmare 2022, suffering a potentially career-ending knee injury against Curtis Blaydes in an O2 headliner. The ailment kept him on the sidelines for 364 days, when he beat Marcin Tybura in his comeback fight. Then he took the Pavlovich fight on short notice, facing off against a man who had knocked out his last seven opponents. Aspinall turned the tables, knocking Pavlovich out just 69 seconds into their bout. After the worst year of his career, Aspinall followed it up with his best in 2023.
The other contenders deserve their praise too. Earps may not have left the World Cup with a medal but she did depart the tournament as a national icon and the Lionesses standout figure. Dettori showed outstanding form as he approached retirement and perhaps would have been a lock for the SPOTY trophy if he had stuck to that vow. Jordan-Thompson was scintillating in capturing gold at the World Championships. But as an absolute minimum, Aspinall deserves to see his name alongside them on the shortlist.
By rights, Tom’s historic 2023 should see him win the award outright. He has knitted together both a stunning injury comeback and a title win that will outlive us all as part of the history books of MMA. The BBC has waited too long to fully buy into MMA. But the sport deserves its place in the pantheon. So does Aspinall. Come on Auntie, do the right thing.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
