Modestas Bukauskas talks sparring Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones

EXCLUSIVE: Modestas Bukauskas has opened up about his experience sparring with Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones.

Later tonight, at UFC 315, inside the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the British-Lithuanian will go to war with Ion Cutelaba in a match-up that looks destined to excite.

Modestas Bukauskas discusses sparring Tom Aspinall

In his career to date, Modestas Bukauskas has proven himself to be a truly fantastic fighter, with the light heavyweight winning two Cage Warriors titles, as well as travelling to Australia to beat tough Australian Tyson Pedro.

However, his match-up this evening serves as his toughest test to date. But he’s certainly prepared for the contest in the right way, having trained extensively with UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, he revealed what his time in the icon’s camp has been like.

The fighter explained: “Proper land of the giants, it’s not often I’m the smallest bloke in the room. You look at the photos and they’re like, ‘Modestas, why are you the pipsqueak’? I look like a bantamweight compared to those guys.

“Honestly, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet in your life. He and his dad took me into their camp with open arms: just great vibes and great energy in the gym. The thing I like about him is that he’s always trying to evolve and improve, and he’s such a consummate professional.

“He does his diet right, he does his sleep right, everything is geared towards being the best. I definitely took a page out of his book. You look at my life right now and you think it’s pretty boring, but in reality, I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s a great family man as well.

“His skill set is insane, the speed, the timing — you can see why he’s the best in the world. The sparring sessions have been amazing. He’s helped me out so much. You grow in confidence being around such high-level athletes, like Mick Parkin and Phil De Fries, you’ve got such an amazing room full of talented guys, so I’m blessed.”

Modestas Bukauskas opens up about sparring Jon Jones

Interestingly, while Bukauskas has spent a lot of time around Aspinall, he’s also shared the gym with the powerhouse’s greatest rival — Jon Jones.

The 31-year-old enthused: “It’s funny because I trained with him when I was 22. I was there for ten weeks in Albuquerque. At the time, he was very nice to me.

“We trained and we sparred a lot. Week in, week out, we were doing jiu-jitsu together and sparring in the cage. It was quite nice that someone appreciated my skill set and my talent. At the time, Jon Jones was light heavyweight champion.

“I had a great experience out there. You can see why people call him the GOAT, because his skill set is insane.”

Knowing just how good Aspinall and Jones are, Bukauskas would love nothing more than to see the pair finally settle their differences inside the octagon.

He claimed: “I think that’s a fight that needs to happen. That’s the only logical fight that makes sense at heavyweight. In my personal opinion, either Jones gets stripped of the belt or does the fight with Tom.

“You can’t have any interim champion who is not fighting for the belt, that’s the whole reason for the interim belt, and Tom 100% deserves it. I think if anyone is going to beat Jon Jones, it’s going to be Tom. If that fight does come to fruition, I think fans are going to be in for a real treat.”

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