Tom Aspinall dedicated his belt to his father, Andy, after knocking out Russian powerhouse Sergei Pavlovich to claim the interim heavyweight title. <br /><br />Tom became the third UFC champion from his homeland by knocking out the Russian in the first round of their bout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.<br /><br />Tom landed a powerful right hook to send Pavlovich tumbling to the floor before following up with several ground strikes to end the contest. <br /><br />The 30-year-old was overcome with emotion after the fight and dedicated his belt to his father - stating his dad had 'worked harder than anybody'. <br /><br />Speaking after the fight, Tom said: 'It's been a crazy two and a half weeks. He's [Pavlovich] a big scary guy. <br /><br />'I've never been as scared in my life as fighting this guy but you know what? I've got a lot of power too and I believe in myself. I believe in myself.'<br /><br />'This man right here, my father, has worked harder than anybody. So, this belt right here is dedicated to my father.'<br /><br />Andy quit his high-paying job when Tom was just 12 years old to the youngster him develop his jiu-jitsu skills. <br /><br />The pair used to train together in the garden before Andy eventually opened a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) school. <br /><br />Speaking to the Sun about his decision to leave his job, Tom's father said: 'I was a contractor for a long time making good money and then I was an IT manager.<br /><br />'I got offered a redundancy payment that I didn't have to take, but Tom was very good at jiu-jitsu and there weren't many jiu-jitsu schools open.<br /><br />'I just decided to teach jiu-jitsu and hoped that Tom at 12, and my other son at 9, would teach jiu-jitsu because they'd have a career then.' <br />
