Sherdog’s 2023 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Every year, we see a handful of fighters who seem to come from out of nowhere, breaking through to new competitive heights and fame. Whether they take the form of a crossover curiosity winning a world title, as Alex Pereira did in 2022, or a well-known veteran who manages a shocking mid-career reinvention, like 2019 winner Jorge Masvidal, those breakthroughs are a reminder of the wonderful unpredictability of mixed martial arts, a challenge to our assumptions as fans and an inspiration to the next year’s crop of would-be superstars.

This year, there were plenty of examples of new as well as familiar names leveling up in stardom and competitive achievement. Impa Kasanganay, a former middle-of-the-road welterweight and middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship best known for being the victim of perhaps the greatest knockout in MMA history, signed with Professional Fighters League and went 5-0 on the year to win the light heavyweight title and $1 million prize. Undefeated welterweight prospect Ian Garry won his first three fights of 2023 to become a fringe contender in the UFC and arguably Ireland’s biggest MMA star since Conor McGregor. If not for his untimely and controversy-laden withdrawal from his booking at UFC 296 in December, “The Future” might have run away with this honor.

In the end, the breakthrough fighter of 2023 needed only two in-cage appearances to seal up the award. UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall returned to action at UFC Fight Night 224 in July, in the same O2 Arena in London where he had suffered a catastrophic knee injury almost exactly a year before against Curtis Blaydes. That injury, which had occurred just 15 seconds into their fight, accounted for Aspinall’s lone career loss to date. As Aspinall headed into his headlining clash with Top 10 heavyweight Marcin Tybura, questions abounded. How would the 30-year-old Mancunian perform physically after the career-threatening injury and year-long rehabilitation? Would his psyche be affected by the familiar surroundings? Would the roar of the English crowd be a support or a source of additional pressure?

In the space of just 73 seconds, Aspinall answered those questions and quite a few more. Always shockingly light on his feet for a 6-foot-5, 260-pound man, he looked as spry as ever, launching a head kick in the opening moments. The disparity in speed between Aspinall and the lumbering Pole was stark, and he dropped him with a short elbow to the chin, followed by a clean one-two. Tybura fell to his back and Aspinall followed, closing out the fight with a flurry of ground punches. The London faithful erupted; England’s great heavyweight hope was back.

Having established that at the very least, Aspinall was still an elite contender, the UFC next thrust him into even deeper waters. The UFC’s annual November blockbuster at Madison Square Garden, UFC 295 was meant to be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, but when Jones was forced to withdraw due to a pectoral injury, the promotion scuttled that bout entirely and booked Aspinall to face Sergei Pavlovich for an interim belt. It was in some ways a mirror match: two massive, athletic heavyweights with one loss apiece in the Octagon and a whole slew of quick finishes otherwise. With Pavlovich just 31, barely older than Aspinall, it was a battle not only for an interim title, but in many ways for the future of the division. The betting line was effectively a pick ‘em.

The primary difference between the two men was specialization. While both were well-rounded martial artists, Pavlovich was a punishing, lead-fisted boxer by preference, where Aspinall was an elite grappler, trained from childhood by his father, the longtime grappling coach at Team Kaobon. Their fight would not be a style-versus-style matchup straight out of 1990s NHB, but it seemed reasonable to assume that Aspinall’s best routes to victory lay in the ground game and vice versa.

For a few moments, that assumption was borne out, as Pavlovich’s first solid punch combination knocked out Aspinall’s mouthpiece and left him looking a bit surprised at the speed and power with which the Russian had touched him. However, seconds later Aspinall pawed out with a half-speed left hand, setting up a righty fastball that detonated on Pavlovich’s temple. Pavlovich dropped in place and Aspinall pounced, putting out his lights with three massive hammerfists. Referee Dan Miragliotta was there in an instant, pulling Aspinall away, stopping the mauling at just one minute, nine seconds of Round 1. Aspinall was the new UFC interim heavyweight champion.

It was a perfect capstone to an incredible year for the kid from Salford. His return from the injury, seemingly better than ever, is a story in itself—in fact, Aspinall came close to winning Sherdog’s poll for “Comeback Fighter of the Year” as well—but he picked up right where he left off in 2022; that is to say, on the verge of breaking through as one of the UFC’s top heavyweights and biggest stars. In just under two and a half minutes of total cage time, Aspinall announced that he was truly back, then made his case to be considered the top heavyweight in the world. It might be a year later than we expected to say it, but Tom Aspinall is Sherdog’s “Breakthrough Fighter of the Year” for 2023.