UFC 304 News: Tom Aspinall Admits He Trolled Fans with Viral Training Method

Aspinall says he dropped the gag upon hearing kids were starting to dip their hands in gasoline.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

As it turns out, Tom Aspinall doesn't actually dip his knuckles into a barrel full of petrol.

UFC's Tom Aspinall Recalls Traveler Heritage With Unique Training Method

"Hardest Knuckles In The UFC"

The UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion turned a lot of heads whenever he said on 'The MMA Hour' that he had been using an "old traveler method" for his latest training camp.

Like 'Big' Joe Joyce in the 2011 documentary 'Knuckle', Aspinall had claimed he was soaking his knuckles in gasoline at 4 a.m. most days as a way to harden them for his rematch against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 this weekend.

Aspinall kept the narrative going during fight week, saying his fists were like "absolute stones" at UFC 304 media day on Wednesday. The next day, the British fighter pranked Ariel Helwani in a FaceTime call and pulled back the curtain, revealing he hadn't been dipping his knuckles in petrol, after all.

"Gotta drop the gag," Aspinall told Helwani, after soaking his knuckles in water, not petrol.

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A post shared by Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)

Aspinall On Fan Reactions: 'I'm Obviously Having A Joke'

"I really wanted to keep that going because I thought it was hilarious," Aspinall said of his running joke in an interview with TNT Sports. "Me and Volk [Alexander Volkanovski] were talking about last night. The Australians get it, obviously. The Brits get it, but the Americans, it's just like, 'Oh, my God, this guy's revolutionizing the game. He's dipping his hands in petrol...'"

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Kids, Don't Try This At Home...

After having a laugh or two, England's Aspinall ultimately decided to "pull the plug" on the petrol gag because of how serious the fans were taking the traveler method.

Jul 22, 2023; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Tom Aspinall (red gloves) reacts to defeating Marcin Tybura (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports / Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

"We started getting tagged a bit on Instagram. Like kids dipping their hands in petrol. And then I was like, 'We gotta pull the plug on this', because I can't... I don't even know. Like, I'm obviously having a joke. I don't even know if that's safe or not," Aspinall cleared up. "So, I don't want little kids looking at me and thinking, this is what I need to do, when I don't know if it's safe or not. So, we pulled the plug on it. But, it was fun. It was fun while it lasted."

Catch interim champ Tom Aspinall in action this Saturday at UFC 304 as he takes on Curtis Blaydes with a potential title unification bout with Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic on the line.

UFC 304: Dana White Confirms Interim Champ Will Face Winner Of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

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