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Tom Aspinall reacts to Conor McGregor branding footage from spar with kickboxing legend ‘woeful’

Tom Aspinall isn't too concerned about Conor McGregor's rude comments after footage emerged of him sparring.

The UFC interim heavyweight champion was filmed hanging out with iconic kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven. The footage was captured as Aspinall tried to stay focused for a possible late call-up to replace Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

McGregor picked it up during discussions surrounding a possible fight between Jones, who defeated Miocic, and the Brit. There appears to be some rivalry developing on the Irishman's side with the heavyweight, who he regularly labels as Mr Potato Head.

Conor McGregor called Tom Aspinall's sparring footage 'dismal'

After initially claiming he didn't think Jones should give Tom Aspinall a shot at the heavyweight title, Conor McGregor changed his tune when he saw a sparring video. He had hoped that the undisputed champion would face light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

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However, when he saw Aspinall and Verheoeven, he shared a now-deleted tweet in which he bumped into the Brit. “Those images of him looking sad against Rico Verhoeven are good images to watch for Jon,” McGregor wrote. “I'm excited for this match, I think it has to happen.”

The video of the sparring is short and shows the pair getting into some light sparring ahead of UFC 309. Verhoeven is also preparing for a Glory Kickboxing title defense on December 7 in the Netherlands.

Tom Aspinall responds to Conor McGregor's criticism

Speaking exclusively to Bloody Elbow, the affable Aspinall refused to be drawn too much by what McGregor had said. He noted that he is always in control of what happens and that he would not allow anything that made him look bad to be released without his consent.

“I released the video,” he told Bloody Elbow editor Jordan Ellis. “So I published what I want people to see. That's what's bothering me. I have been sparring with Rico for almost 10 years now. I know how the sparring sessions go.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“I show what I want people to see. Same goes for social media, don't put my whole life on there. I wear what I want people to see and that's it.

“There's a lot of things that happen in everyone's lives that people don't know about and they don't put it out there because you just put out what you want people to see. That's what I did with the video.

Rico Verhoeven adds context to Tom Aspinall's sparring video

Verhoeven echoed what Aspinall said and even noted that he thinks the Briton would compete at the highest level if he made the move to Glory. It wouldn't be a surprise; Aspinall comes from a Jiu-Jitsu family, but has also boxed professionally and been part of Tyson Fury's world title training camps.

Speaking to MMA Junkie yesterday, Verhoeven explained: “Me and Tom, do you really, really, really think that me and Tom are actually going to spar and share it on the internet? Come on, you're kidding me.

“But that's the mentality of today's world; they're all like, 'Yo, what's on the internet, that's real.' Come on. We're too smart for that. We've been playing this game for so long.

“And that's one of the reasons why we've dominated for so long, because we try to outsmart everyone. So it's definitely not something we would post. We just had fun. Tom had to stay in shape and be ready to fight Stipe or Jon at UFC 309.

“So we just had fun and imitated Jon a little bit, going from side to side and moving around. That's what we were doing. It's not true what you can analyze as: 'He didn't look that good against Rico.' Because believe me. Tom is a great kickboxer.

“He would certainly give the top three in Glory their hands full in a fight. Every time he comes we talk and he's such a great listener and he's a learner. Every time I give him something, he comes back and masters the trick I told him. I love it.”

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