Athletes
Steven Asplund Is Pulling Out All The Stops
After Suffering His First UFC Defeat Last Time Out, Steven Asplund Has Promised Himself He Won’t Short-Change Himself Ahead Of Fights Again
UFC heavyweight Steven Asplund has transformed his life through making agreements with himself, and after making another following his first UFC defeat, he’s ready to bounce back with the biggest win of his career.
Asplund’s journey into the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series allowed him to share his inspirational story of self-belief as he transformed his body and health for the betterment of his life, culminating in a career that took him to the biggest stage in combat sports.
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The adage says that every journey starts with a first step, and Asplund explained that his first step was agreeing with himself that things had to change.
“My first step in changing my life, ultimately, was just choosing myself,” he said. “I got to an understanding that I didn't want to be here anymore, and ultimately, the first step truly is like being fed up. It's making an agreement with yourself that you're gonna start, and you can't do that ‘I start tomorrow’ s***. It's gotta be today. It has to be right now.”
Steven Asplund: "I'm Going For A First-Round KO" | UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld
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Steven Asplund: "I'm Going For A First-Round KO" | UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld
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It saw Asplund lose nearly 300 pounds in a remarkable transformation, as he made simple, immediate changes to his lifestyle that he then built on over the months and years that followed.
“I cut out soda. I cut out sweets immediately. Your biggest cruxes, you know? Sugar,” he said. “I just looked at a can of soda, a Mountain Dew. One of my buddies was working on a job site with us, and I couldn't help myself. It's 95 degrees. We're all chugging water and Gatorades, and this kid's walking around sipping Mountain Dew. And I look at it, and there's 48 grams of sugar in one Mountain Dew. Take that s*** away! Get out of there, man! Stop drinking the soda. Zero sugar is so much better.
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“So yeah, just cut out the stuff that you know is gonna have a huge impact, and just start walking, even if it's around the block, you know? Just start walking, and then work your way up, day by day. It's got to be more every day, and that's the only way we get used to it.”
Asplund’s weight loss journey coincided with his blossoming mixed martial arts career, and in 2023 he turned pro and raced to a 5-1 record, with four of those wins coming under the LFA banner, to earn himself a shot at the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series.
His remarkable story made his fight a must-watch bout, and his 16-second demolition of former CFFC heavyweight champion Anthony Guarascio earned him a contract from UFC boss White.
“I'm being honest, I never thought that the UFC was going to be a possibility,” Asplund admitted. “All of this is so much further than my dreams have been in my head. It also felt impossibly slow and incredibly fast, all at the same time.
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“I'm coming up on my five-year anniversary for fighting – I think I actually just hit it, and I've only been a professional for coming up on three years now. Everything is surreal. I mean, in my opinion, this has been incredibly fast in regards to the training process. And there's days where you have to talk to yourself and ask, "Do I really want to do this? So yeah, I mean, there's a lot of those days.”
Its taken an incredible amount of work, both mentally and physically, to get Asplund to where he is today, but he’s fully aware that the hard work really starts once you get to the UFC.
His first fight saw him claim a second-round standing TKO finish of Sean Sharaf in a bout that was awarded Fight of the Night honors. But, just four months after the elation of that first win and the accompanying bonus check, Asplund was brought crashing down to earth when he lost a unanimous decision to Brazil’s rising heavyweight Vitor Petrino.
Asplund said he has reflected on that defeat and implemented changes to his training camp to ensure that no stone was left unturned in his preparation for his next test, which comes against Brazil’s Guilherme Pat on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld at Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
“I've been candid about the camp last time, and I made a ton of mistakes that I'm learning through,” he said. “I didn't come in 20-something pounds overweight this time, and that was a huge detriment. And I don't think that it had a impact on my performance by any means, but it had to have, you know what I mean? Like, I didn't feel like I was hindered, but in retrospect, I probably was, and there's no excuses. Vitor got me. He beat me.
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“But this time, I've invested in myself. I bought a home gym. I put a ton of dumbbells in my garage, and an Airdyne bike, and a squat rack. I never want to feel that way again. These losses feel like death to me.
“I don't just want to win. I want to be champion someday. So, I dwelled on it, and I thought about it a lot, and I came to an understanding, and I made an agreement with myself that I am never going to ask myself if I could have done more before a fight again. This fight, I know I couldn't have. I've done everything I can.”
Heavyweight MMA can be a real tightrope walk at times, with one connection in those small MMA gloves enough to turn anyone’s lights out. But while there are tangible threats on the feet and on the ground whenever two heavyweights face off in the Octagon, Asplund says he brings one immeasurable factor to the fight – his heart.
“I feel like that's truthfully what separates me and the rest of these heavyweights,” he suggested. “I know everyone has a story. I know everyone's struggling and trying to get something done for a purpose [but] I don't believe that any of these guys have the heart that I have.
“I put everything into these performances as I know everybody else does, but I feel like when I stand across from someone, I see something different than what I see in the mirror, and the intensity isn't always there. And I just feel like my heart is what separates me from everybody else.”
Asplund’s every answer is delivered with the authenticity of someone who you know is pouring everything into making the most of his opportunities. And, when he was asked to talk about how he sees the fight playing out, he didn’t even have to think about his response, as he laid out his plan for Saturday night’s fight.
“I see it being violent,” he said. “I see Guilherme coming out here to do a task, and him wanting to make sure that he puts everybody on notice. And I hope he obliges to what I've been saying, because if he does, this will be a fun fight for the fans.
“And I know, in my heart of hearts, that I will be the one getting my hand raised on Saturday. I'm going for a first-round KO. Heavy pace, lots of strength, heavy elbows. Swarm him.”
UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 8, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!