Tom Aspinall was crowned the interim heavyweight champion following his first-round KO win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.
The pay-per-view card was initially slated to be headlined by an undisputed title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
The clash was billed by ‘Bones’ himself as the greatest MMA fighter ever versus the greatest heavyweight of all time, while UFC CEO Dana White referred to the matchup as a “legacy fight.”
But two weeks before UFC 295, ‘Bones’ was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering an injury. Jones tore his pectoral muscle in training and is expected to be out for eight months.
Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich filled in for Jones vs. Miocic, with the interim heavyweight title on the line. The Mancunian realized his destiny with a stunning finish, and he has now called for a showdown with former champion Stipe Miocic.
During a recent interview on the Fight Disciples podcast, he said this:
“Me and Stipe. It makes complete sense… It works perfectly for UFC 300… Me and Stipe makes the most sense out of anybody. He’s ready to fight. He goes down as the greatest heavyweight of all time. It makes all the sense in the world, let’s do me and Stipe, and then the winner will fight Jones.”
Listen to Tom Aspinall’s comments below from 8:10:
Tom Aspinall interested in a boxing match if the UFC want to keep Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic
Despite realizing his dream of winning a UFC world title, Tom Aspinall has found himself in an awkward position.
The Mancunian defeated Sergei Pavlovich via KO in round one of their clash at UFC 295 to become the interim titleholder. Usually, when a fighter wins the interim belt, their next fight is a clash with the champion.
But with the magnitude of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the fight will go ahead in 2024, before either man faces Aspinall. This means that he may have to defend an interim title, something that only Renan Barao has done.
During the aforementioned interview on the Fight Disciples podcast, Tom Aspinall shared his thoughts on potentially having a boxing match to stay active, while the heavyweight division waits for Jones vs. Miocic to finally play out.
He said this:
“I’d absolutely do that. If I can pass that with the UFC, I’ll do that. I think it’s a good idea… I wanna be active.” [11:36-12:05]