Tom Aspinall is the new top face of the UFC’s heavyweight division as he is now the Interim Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Sergei Pavlovic at UFC 295 to win the belt.
The event which took place on November 11, 2023, at MSG, New York City was originally scheduled to feature Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic. But the events took a turn after ‘Bones’ had to pull out of UFC 295 after he suffered an injury. Thus, Dana White announced Aspinall vs Pavlovic for the Interim Heavyweight title.
While training for UFC 295, Jones tore a pectoral tendon off the bone. The fighter had surgery and will now be off for about 8-9 months and despite this, he hasn’t been stripped of his title. Many fans have expressed their take on Jones holding the title and one of them is Tom Aspinall.
In a conversation with Michael Bisping on the latter’s YouTube channel, Aspinall expressed his disappointment on the same. He shared his take on ‘Bones’ situation and why he should be stripped of the heavyweight title. He said,
“I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title to be honest, because everyone else does when they get injured like that. I don’t see why he’s still got it. I don’t understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now.”
The 30-year-old fighter shared his thoughts on why Jones isn’t getting stripped of the title when everybody else does in such situations. ‘The Honey Badger’ has expressed his desire to face Jones or Miocic to build his legacy. But he will now have to wait for the fight as Dana White still interested in Jones vs Miocic fight.
Michael Bisping is one of Aspinall’s biggest admirers. Before the UFC 295 event, he expressed how Aspinall is in line to greatness hinting towards the legacy fight against Jon Jones.
What did Michael Bisping say about Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones?
Before the change in main and co-main events post the news of Jones’s injury, Bisping opened up about the UFC 295 event. He presented his analysis while expressing his take on Pavlovich vs. Aspinall fight. He said,
“I believe he (Tom Aspinall) makes it look relatively easy, and that’s not disrespect to Sergei. I think the skillset that he has, he’s got all the ingredients to get him the win here. I think he beats him. I think he beats Jon Jones if that comes up, and I think he dominates the heavyweight division for quite some time, and he will retire as the greatest heavyweight champion that the UFC has ever seen.”
Bisping labelled Aspinall as his favorite and shared his thoughts on how beating Jon Jones would get him a ticket to greatness. According to the UFC analyst, it would make Aspinall the greatest heavyweight champion.
But there have been many speculations about ‘Bones’ retiring after his fight against Miocic. This might disrupt Aspinall’s plan of action towards greatness.
However, the last call lies with the UFC as to what is suitable for all. The disappointment posed by Aspinall is however justified but fans are eagerly waiting to see how things unfold.
