Tom Aspinall, the recently crowned UFC interim heavyweight champion, was interviewed by Michael Bisping on his ‘Believe You Me’ podcast. Aspinall, a big fan of Bisping, is the third UFC champion from the UK. Bisping was the first British UFC champion followed by Leon Edwards.
Aspinall at UFC 295 demolished surging knockout machine Sergey Pavlovich in the first round of their co-main event bout. With the victory, Aspinall has set himself on a collision course with the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.
Tom Aspinall wants Jones stripped of the title
The original main event for UFC 295 was a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and arguable UFC heavyweight GOAT, Stipe Miocic. Unfortunately, Jones suffered a pectoral injury that forced his withdrawal from the bout elevating the co-main event of Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka to the main event.
šØ| Tom Aspinall has stated that he will NOT give Ciryl Gane a shot at his interim heavyweight title next.
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) November 17, 2023
Aspinall says Gane should not get to fight for gold whenever he likes, especially after Gane turned down Aspinallās callout after #UFCParis.
Aspinall says Game can fightā¦ pic.twitter.com/kdfCoHJcYY
A new co-main event featuring Tom Aspinall and Sergey Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight championship was announced. Aspinall made quick work of Pavlovich and hinted at his interest in fighting Jones, the former light heavyweight kingpin. However, Dana White and the UFC are dead set on making the fight between Jones and Miocic happen.
Jon Jones requires a minimum of eight months to recover from the pectoral injury he suffered during wrestling training. Aspinall had words to say about Jones’ status as the undisputed champion during his appearance in the ‘Believe You Me’ podcast. “I think Jon Jones should be stripped of the title, to be honest, because everyone else does when they get injured like that,” Aspinall said of Jones.
“I don’t see why he still has it. I don’t understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now.” Aspinall further added about his situation. Previously the UFC asked Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill to vacate their title when they suffered injuries that required extended lay-offs. Nevertheless, a legacy fight between the GOAT of MMA and heavyweight GOAT seems to be too much enticing for the UFC fans.
Tom Aspinall gives Ciryl Gane a dose of his own medicine
Jon Jones won the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 after Francis Ngannou left the UFC to start his career in boxing. He would later sign with the PFL and fight Tyson Fury in a closely contested boxing bout. Jones defeated Gane via first-round submission to further cement his status as the GOAT of MMA.
Gane would rebound with a victory over Sergey Spivak at the recent UFC Paris Fight Night. This was after Tom Aspinall defeated Marcin Tybura in the main event of the recent UFC London Fight Night and called for a fight with Gane. However, Gane was not interested in fighting Apsinall as he was of the opinion that he was interested in only fighting for the title.
Interestingly, immediately after Aspinall won the title, Gane congratulated Aspinall on X, formerly Twitter, and called for a title fight. With Aspinall being the interim champion, the prospect of fighting him seemed enticing for Gane. However, Aspinall gave Gane a taste of his own medicine.
“He can fight Almeida first because he refused to fight with me. So now, before he jumps back in and waits for a shot, he can fight Almeida. Then, guys can fight, and the winner can fight me,” Tom Aspinall replied when a reporter asked about fighting Gane in the post-fight interview.
Who do you think will win a potential fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall? Leave your prediction below!
