Steven Asplund Record: 8-2-0

A regional setback

The one clear bump on the way up came in September 2024, when Asplund was submitted by Denzel Freeman via second-round rear-naked choke at LFA 193 — an honest reminder that his grappling defense lagged behind his striking. Rather than derail him, the loss sharpened his focus: he reeled off four straight stoppage wins afterward, including TKO finishes of Hammer Morton and Raiden Kovacs, to power his way into the UFC.

UFC arrival and a step up

Asplund opened his UFC run in promising fashion, stopping Sean Sharaf with a second-round barrage of punches and elbows on a Fight Night card in December 2025. The level then rose sharply in March 2026, when he met the highly regarded Vitor Petrino and dropped a competitive three-round unanimous decision. It was his second career loss, but it came against a top-tier opponent and gave Asplund a clear read on the gap between regional dominance and the UFC's deeper waters.

Fighting style

Asplund is a volume-heavy, forward-pressing finisher whose game is built on output rather than one-punch power. Six of his seven wins have come by KO or TKO — an 86% finish rate — typically through accumulating punches and elbows rather than single bombs, a pace that is unusual for a man his size and a direct product of the conditioning he rebuilt from scratch. The honest weaknesses are documented in his two losses: the Freeman submission flagged his grappling vulnerability, and the Petrino decision showed that elite, well-rounded heavyweights can negate his pressure over three rounds. Shoring up the mat game is the clear path to climbing the division.

Career highlights

• Contender Series finish — earned his UFC contract with a first-round stoppage of Anthony Guarascio in 2025.
• Nearly 300-pound transformation — rebuilt from over 500 pounds into a fast-paced UFC heavyweight, an extraordinary athletic feat.
• Winning UFC debut — stopped Sean Sharaf with punches and elbows in December 2025 to open his promotional run.