Serghei Spivak heard Tom Aspinall’s recent call-outs — it’s a chief reason for him choosing to travel from Moscow to fight at UFC Vegas 36 on a week’s notice.
Streaking heavyweight Serghei Spivak already has a pair of victories under his belt this year, most recently over Aleksei Oleinik in June. His third challenge of 2021 comes in the form of England’s Tom Aspinall, who has yet to lose since entering the UFC. Upon accepting the fight last weekend, Spivak knew of the high-risk high reward circumstances.
However, the rewards that come with defeating someone such as Aspinall weren’t the only reason why he accepted the fight last-minute. Spivak hearing his fellow heavyweight’s call-outs played a hand in him wanting the matchup.
“Yes, I have heard about that (the call-outs) and this is why I am here,” Spivak said through his translator at the UFC Vegas 36 media day. “No (bad blood), this is just sport and competition for me.”
Spivak was halfway across the globe when he received the offer last weekend to fight at UFC Vegas 36. Despite that fact, the 26-year-old decided to take the first short-notice fight of his career.
“Last Sunday I got information and offer for this fight and I just accepted,” he confirmed. “No, I was in Moscow at the time and I traveled to the states. This is my first experience like this and let’s see after the fight how I feel.”
Serghei Spivak focused on this mission, not looking ahead
Spivak has his mind completely focused on UFC Vegas 36 against Tom Aspinall. He isn’t concerned with what lies ahead on the other side.
“I consider him to be a really strong, tough opponent,” Spivak said. “He has certain strengths like power, explosiveness. He’s completing fights early. So yeah, I consider him a serious opponent for me.”
With a victory at UFC Vegas 36, Spivak’s winning streak would stretch to four. He’d be on the cusp of the heavyweight’s top-15, but again, Spivak knows the test in from of him that is Aspinall.
“I don’t wanna call anybody (out) at the moment,” he stated. “I don’t want to think ahead. I would just like to complete this fight and then I’ll be waiting for next offer from UFC.”