It was not even two full weeks ago when Steven Asplund got the call to fill in for Guilherme Pat, who had to withdraw from Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series against Anthony Guarascio. While that’s a dream come through for any fighter – Asplund included – in typical “Concrete” fashion, his thoughts were how he could use this to help others.
Once having weighed more than 500lbs, Asplund has used his entry into MMA as a way to get himself in to shape and have something more to fight for. Now he wants to use this opportunity to help those who are in the same place he once was.
“I’m just a fat kid that never gave up on himself, man,” Asplund said. “I’d like to be able to have this platform, I hope to God I get to inspire a few people and I hope a couple of people look at this journey and look at my story like, all right, well, if he if his dumb ass can do it, I can do it.”
However, it’s not just for those who are looking to get off the couch anymore. There are a slew of family and friends that Asplund looks to bring this home for on Tuesday. Amongst them is his dad, who had an incredible 30+ MMA career himself. Getting to tell the original “Concrete” about this chance was yet another big moment for the formerly big man.
“I’m going to start crying here, so don’t make fun of me. But when I got to call my dad and tell him we made it back to the UFC, I was an emotional call,” he said referencing his dad’s long career, which saw him fight on the regional scene for nearly 16 years. “I get to do this for us. It’s not just my heart that’s right. Like, obviously, I’m in this for me – this is this is something I need to do for me. I’m proving to myself that I can fucking do this. I’m proving to everybody else that’s talking shit that I can fucking do this. But to have my fucking dad on my team and like supporting me the way that he has… I’m just honored.”
While getting to this point helps to honor his dad and help inspire others, he knows that there is another step to it all. He has to take it home on Tuesday. With all that he’s fighting for, he’s confident that nobody can take him out.
“I want to be able to wear some UFC shorts the next fight and I want to be able to bring this shit back to my city and do this shit for my family. I want to give my daughter a better life. I want to give my wife a better life,” Asplund explained. “I know Anthony’s got a lot of shit that he’s doing this for too – all of us are fucking psychos. There’s a reason we got into this game. But my will is ironclad, and I think you’re going to have to fucking kill me.”
You can catch that fight with Anthony Guarascio as part of Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series this Tuesday. The fight will serve as the main event on ESPN+ with the card starting at 8pm EST.
