Tom Aspinall was considered one of the hottest prospects in the heavyweight division and he lived up to the hype. Within only a few fights, he managed to land a potential title contention match against veteran Curtis Blaydes but suffered a horrific injury in the very first round. After nearly a year of recovery, the Brit is finally scheduled to make his comeback against Marcin Tybura at the next UFC London event.
The heavyweight division has run a little stale since Francis Ngannou left and Stipe Miocic went into hiatus. Most fighters at the top aren’t really considered a challenge for the reigning champion Jon Jones owing to the former light-heavyweight champ’s strong ground game. This is where Aspinall thinks he can pose a legit challenge down the line.
Tom Aspinall aims to fight Jon Jones in the future
During a recent interview with the U.K.’s TNT Sports, UFC president Dana White candidly addressed the obvious dominance of the promotion’s heavyweight division. Jones (27-1), hailed as the heavyweight champion and one of the greatest fighters in history, is gearing up to defend his title against Stipe Miocic (20-4) on Nov. 11.
“Imagine if we could end up with an England vs. Jon Jones fight,” White said.
When asked about a potential fight against ‘Bones’, Tom was rather quick to respond, “Yes, That’s my dream fight.”
Tom Aspinall plans to entice Jon Jones into a future fight – starting at #UFCLondon.
Full story: https://t.co/KHQIO4UwN2 pic.twitter.com/8XWItROT7y
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) July 21, 2023
He further went on to say, “My goal in the future moving forward is not only to win [at UFC London], but I want to excite Jon Jones. Like, I want him to look at me and think — I keep saying it in interviews and stuff, but at this point he probably doesn’t know who I am. He probably doesn’t, and that’s fine.”
“But I want him to watch me fight in the next few fights and think, ‘I need to stick around for this guy. This guy deserves [to fight me].’ I want him to look at me and think, ‘I need to test myself against this guy,’ and be excited about guys like me coming through and want to take that challenge,” Tom added.
Tom Aspinall returns to UFC after 1-year layoff to fight Marcin Tybura
Exactly one year ago, Tom Aspinall (12-3) faced the first defeat of his UFC career in a devastating manner. During his heavyweight main event against Curtis Blaydes inside London’s O2 Arena, Aspinall’s right knee buckled as he threw a kick, a mere 15 seconds into the fight.
The excruciating pain caused him to collapse to the ground instantly, leading to the bout being called off as a TKO. At the age of 30, this setback was probably one of the most challenging moments for Aspinall in his MMA journey.
Tom Aspinall, hailing from Salford, England, is set to make his Octagon return on Saturday (ESPN+, main card at 3 p.m. ET, prelims at noon) for the first time since he underwent surgery for a torn MCL and damaged ACL, taking on Poland’s Marcin Tybura (24-7) at the O2 Arena.
Do you think Tom will be able to carry his earlier momentum going into his next bout? Let’s have a discussion in the comments!
