Tom Aspinall hopes to fight Jon Jones in Manchester.
At UFC 295, Aspinall secured the biggest win of his fighting career, a first-round knockout against Sergei Pavlovich to become the UFC interim heavyweight champion. The 30-year-old now finds himself in a tricky situation regarding what’s next.
Aspinall earned the interim opportunity because Jon Jones pulled out of his title defense against Stipe Miocic after suffering a torn pectoral muscle. Yet, the UFC plans to reschedule Jones vs. Miocic once ‘Bones’ recovers from his injury and returns in mid-2024.
As a result, Tom Aspinall might have to wait to fight the winner of Jones vs. Miocic. During his UFC 295 post-fight press conference, the new interim UFC heavyweight champion had this to say about who he wants to fight next, which was transcribed by MMA Fighting:
“Right now I’m going to enjoy tonight, but I think we should do Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones in Manchester. That is something special, and I’m sure the UFC are going to be on board with that. That would be special.”
Jon Jones congratulated Tom Aspinall on social media for the latter’s win against Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall was asked about Jones’ showing him respect and responded by saying:
“I’ve seen Jon talking nice stuff about me on a podcast as well, it’s really nice,” Aspinall said. “Obviously, it’s always nice to hear nice things about you, but from someone like that who I massively look up to, even more so.”
Aspinall followed up by saying:
“Thank you, Jon, and just give me the opportunity. Let me do it. Give me my dream fight. Why not? I’ve just achieved my dream now. Give me my dream fight, let me fight for my legacy now, please.”
Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!
— BONY (@JonnyBones) November 12, 2023
Tom Aspinall isn’t interested in next fight being against Ciryl Gane
Tom Aspinall has acquired a target on his back due to his impressive performance at UFC 295. The first-round knockout win caught the attention of Ciryl Gane, the number one-ranked UFC heavyweight. Gane reacted to Aspinall’s breakout moment by saying this on Twitter:
“Congratulations, Tom. You are now the champion and become the one being pursued, and I am the hunter. See you soon”
Congratulations, Tom.
You are now the champion and become the one being pursued, and I am the hunter. See you soon 👀
— Ciryl Gane (@ciryl_gane) November 12, 2023
Tom Aspinall was asked about Ciryl Gane’s callout during his UFC 295 post-fight press conference. Aspinall responded by recalling how Gane didn’t want to fight him earlier this year.
“That’s interesting after I just called him out, went to France, and he turned the fight down. I think he should fight [Jailton] Almeida. I think them guys should fight each other first and see what happens there.”
Tom Aspinall fought in the UFC for the first time in July 2020. He started his promotional tenure with five consecutive wins, all inside the distance, before suffering a severe knee injury in the first minute of his fight against Curtis Blaydes.
Aspinall returned in July and secured a first-round knockout win against Marcin Tybura. The momentum carried into his life-changing performance at UFC 295.
Watch Tom Aspinall’s UFC 295 post-fight press conference below:
