UFC star Tom Aspinall has taken time away from his latest camp to make a lucky fans day.
The interim heavyweight champion is set to defend his belt against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event of UFC 304 at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester on July 27.
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Just days away from his first title defence, Aspinall shouldn’t be thinking about anything else, but after learning about a young fan named Ottis, he had to do something special for him.
“At a couple of meet-and-greets, I’ve been doing recently, there’s been a lad there,” Aspinall recently told talkSPORT MMA.
“There’s a young feller, he’s been through a tough time, and he’s been to a couple of my events to meet me.
“Unfortunately, the line has been so long both times that he’s not been able to meet me. It’s been cut off.
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"Usually, when you work on those kinds of things, you get a time limit. So, they might have you there for an hour, an hour-and-a-half, two hours.
“Once the two hours is up, they close it off and you don’t get to see everybody.
“Ottis, he’s had a bit of a tough time, a rough life. And I didn’t manage to meet him both times he’s come out to see me.
“With Gym King’s help, we went and surprised him in the gym – he’s into MMA himself and has just had his first Thai boxing fight.
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“He’s 16. A really nice lad and we managed to go down the gym to surprise him.”
Wholesome footage shows Aspinall entering the gym to surprise his fan.
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Ottis looked a bit shell-shocked at first, but it didn’t take long for the youngster to put on some gloves and show Aspinall his impressive striking skills.
“I didn’t expect it,” Ottis stated.
“I just came down to do a bit of grappling and he’s come out.
“He’s just come out. I appreciate it.”
After a money-can't-buy pad session with a UFC superstar, Ottis was given a gym bag full of equipment that means he will always look the part when he trains.
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Gym King’s Nothing Beats Belief campaign is aimed at being resilient and having the right mindset to overcome adversity whoever you are.
For more on the ‘Nothing Beats Belief’ campaign head to www.thegymking.com