Tom Aspinall recently won the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 295 against Sergei Pavlovich with a first-round KO. Aspinall was visibly emotional in the aftermath of the victory and it drew criticism from former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo.
Cejudo is one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes in the world. In addition to being one of the few simultaneous double champions in the UFC, Cejudo is also an Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling in the 57 kg wrestling at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
Aspinall dismisses Henry Cejudo’s criticism
Aspinall along with his father, Andy Aspinall, was recently interviewed by UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping on his YouTube channel. Bisping is the first UFC champion from the UK followed by Leon Edwards, who did the same in 2022.
In the interview, Bipsing asked about Henry Cejudo’s statements on Aspinall’s emotional celebration. Bisping clarified that it is easier for someone like Henry Cejudo or Daniel Cormier to disregard an interim title as they were two division champions. Interestingly, Cormier was against Cejudo’s remarks and even publicly voiced his opposition on his YouTube channel.
“It doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is when someone I know has an issue, and they’ve got my number, but they want to go online to beef it up”, Aspinall said to Bisping on Cejudo’s remarks. Apparently, Aspinall was not bothered by it mainly due to Cejudo being a relative stranger to him.
Cejudo is a good friend of Jon Jones, who is the undisputed heavyweight champion. Henry trained Jones preluding his victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 for the vacant heavyweight title. Moreover, Aspinall has demanded that Jones be stripped of the title due to his long lay-off.
Cejudo breaks down Tom Aspinall’s strategy for Heavyweight title clash
The potential heavyweight clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall has intrigued Henry Cejudo. He made a break down of the fight on his YouTube channel. This matchup promises to be a historic encounter as it will pit the seasoned veteran Jones against the relatively youthful Tom Aspinall.
‘Triple C’ is of the opinion that Jones has well-rounded abilities whereas Aspinall demonstrates a strong striking capability and an evolving ground game, backed by his jiu-jitsu training that was instilled in him by his father. Cejudo also showed the difference in reach between the two. Jones has an 84-inch reach which is 6 inches more than Aspinall who is one inch taller than Jones at 6’4″.
Nevertheless, Cejudo believes that Aspinall is an agile and tactically astute young heavyweight fighter. However, Cejudo is of the opinion that Jones’ experience, mental fortitude, and ability to handle high-pressure scenarios give him a distinct advantage over a relatively new fighter in Aspinall.
Cejudo did not provide a prediction but voiced his opinion that the matchup between Aspinall and Jones is much better than a Miocic vs Jones matchup. Like any MMA fan, Cejudo too is awaiting the matchup which is at least one and a half years away from coming to fruition. This is due to the fact that Dana White is adamant in making Miocic vs Jones when Jones returns from injury.
What do you make of Henry Cejudo’s breakup of a potential Jones vs Aspinall matchup? Who do you think will win the matchup? Leave your comments below!
