Tom Aspinall is determined to revitalize the heavyweight division, making a clear statement about his intention to stay highly active this year.
The prolonged situation surrounding the UFC heavyweight title, involving Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, appears to be reaching a conclusion as the interim champion indicates he`s finished waiting for Jones to return.
Jones recently suggested that an agreement exists between himself, Aspinall, and the UFC, stating they were awaiting the promotion`s announcement. This fueled speculation about a potential fight.
However, Aspinall quickly countered, asserting that Jones is effectively retired and that he himself already has a date set for a different bout.
Tom Aspinall Aims for Two Fights This Year
Fans have expressed significant frustration over the UFC`s silence regarding the potential title unification fight, concerned not only that it`s stalling the division but also potentially wasting Aspinall`s prime years.
Consequently, the British fighter has officially decided to abandon his wait for Jones and has declared his goal to compete twice this year, aiming to inject momentum back into the division.
Aspinall told TNT Sports, “I’m sick of talking about myself… I think it’s pretty clear to see that Jon Jones has retired, he doesn’t want to fight me. We wish Jon all the best in the future, of course, but we want this heavyweight division active.”
He continued, “We want to give these contenders a chance to fight, we wanna have a defending champion, don’t we? Why is this division so stagnant all the time? Let’s make the heavyweight division great again and have an active defending UFC heavyweight champion, let’s move on.”
Aspinall added, “I’m ready to fight, I wanna get two fights in before the end of the year so that’s what we’re doing. We finally have some movement, Jones has had a great career, I respect him, we know what he’s done… Have a good life, we move on.”
Who Could Tom Aspinall Fight Next?
Currently ranked number two in the heavyweight division is Ciryl Gane, who is coming off a victory against Alexander Volkov. Aspinall and Gane have been discussed as potential opponents previously, but the Frenchman reportedly declined the fight when Aspinall was ranked below him, preferring a higher-ranked opponent at the time.
However, Aspinall has also mentioned the possibility of fighting Alex Pereira in the future. Following Magomed Ankalaev’s recent claim that Pereira rejected a rematch against him, fans are hopeful that `Poatan` might soon consider a move up to the heavyweight division.
Gareth Pendleton