UFC star Tom Aspinall soaks knuckles in PETROL to harden them up before fights.
The 31-year-old MMA fighter revealed the bizarre ritual ahead of his next bout.
He is due to take on Curtis Blaydes in Manchester at UFC 304 next Saturday (27 Jul), as reported by What’s The Jam.
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Describing the day of the fight prep, he said: “When it gets to about 4am, I get my alarm on, I go outside,
“Do a bit of shadowboxing in the hay bales.
”And then, I do the old traveller method of dipping your knuckles in petrol for about 20 minutes as the sun’s coming up.
“And that hardens your knuckles.”
In the interview with the podcast, The MMA Hour, he added: “You ever seen the documentary, Knuckle?
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Are you familiar with that?
“It’s a documentary about Travellers, travelling communities in the UK and Ireland.
“And there’s a guy on there, big Joe Joyce, an old travelling legend, and big Joe Joyce reveals a few Gypsy methods for getting ready for a fight.”
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So, embracing his Gypsy heritage, Aspinall decided to adapt the method to prepare him better than ever for match day.
He continued: “This is a massive fight for me, both professionally and personally.
“These are some of the hardest knuckles in the UFC right here right now.
“They’re like rocks.”
The MMA fighter is ranked number 11 in the world’s men’s pound-for-pound and has a record of 14-3-0 in his belt.
Coming in at 6’5, the heavyweight champ is set to make a title defence during this month’s event, but will his petrol-soaked knuckles prove the decisive factor?
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