Tom Aspinall warned that he could fall victim to the same thing that led to Ronda Rousey’s downfall

Chael Sonnen reveals his one concern for Tom Aspinall at UFC 321

During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, former title challenger Chael Sonnen previewed Aspinall’s first fight since a successful interim title defense against Curtis Blaydes in July 2024.

‘The Bad Guy’ explained why he does not view Aspinall’s quick work inside the Octagon as entirely positive, likening it to Ronda Rousey’s dominance before she fell victim to an all-time upset.

‘Rowdy’ was 12-0 with 11 first-round finishes before UFC 193, where Rousey was shockingly knocked out by Holly Holm in the second round.

“My biggest concern for Tom is the very things that the community is praising him for,” Sonnen said.

“The community is praising that he has knocked six guys out in the first round. They are praising him that he has never gone the distance in the UFC. They are praising him that he has only left the first round in his entire UFC career one time.

“I agree those are amazing stats, but they concern me,” he continued. “I know the importance of experience. I know the downfalls of ring rust.

“The guy’s only spent 15 minutes in the Octagon his entire life. We’ve never had an undisputed champion in history with less time in the Octagon.

“I argue for you to this day, the number one reason that Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey was not the flight and the time delay, and even the head kick. The number one thing that bit Ronda in the a— was that she finished so many fights so quickly.

“She found herself, for the first time, in a hard match.”

Jon Jones made a ‘mistake’ by not fighting Tom Aspinall before he experiences five rounds

Sonnen is not the only prominent figure with thoughts about Aspinall’s short fight time.

Daniel Cormier also touched on it during UFC 321 fight week, suggesting Jon Jones made a “huge mistake” not fighting Aspinall now before the Englishman has felt what it’s like to go the distance inside the Octagon.

“We don’t know what 25 minutes with Tom Aspinall looks like,” Cormier said while interviewing the champ on his YouTube channel.

“So the unknown should give guys confidence that right now is the time to fight you in that long fight.

“Jon Jones, I think he made a huge mistake by not fighting you now,” he continued. “Because what if you go 25 minutes and you still win, but you understand that fatigue? Because it is a different fatigue.

“Once you do it once, though, it’ll become like, yes. Right now’s the time to be fighting Tom Aspinall before you get that experience.”