Tom Aspinall has been calling for a title unification bout in opposition to heavyweight champion Jon Jones since successful the interim title at UFC 295 in November 2023.
An interim title was created after Jones suffered an harm that compelled him out of the initially deliberate UFC 295 important occasion in opposition to former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic. Sergei Pavlovich was the backup fighter for the principle occasion title combat and Aspinall stepped in on two-weeks discover to face the Russian for the interim championship. Aspinall knocked Pavlovich out in 69 seconds.
UFC matchmakers rebooked the Jones and Miocic matchup whereas Aspinall defended the interim belt, knocking out Curtis Blaydes in a minute at UFC 304 in July. Jones defeated Miocic in his first title protection at UFC 309 final month. Whether or not Jones will face Aspinall subsequent stays unsure, however Aspinall is not particularly looking for to combat Jones. The Englishman merely desires what Jones has, the undisputed UFC heavyweight title.
“I need to see if my stuff works in opposition to his stuff, however finally – I believe lots of people get this twisted, and Jon likes to spin the narrative on it – my curiosity is not significantly combating Jon. The curiosity is that factor round his waist,” Aspinall instructed TNT Sports activities. “Unifying the belts. I’ve obtained a belt. He is obtained a belt. There ought to be one belt, not two.”
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Tom Aspinall: “There should not be a debate”
With two champions in a division, there’ll all the time be debate about which of the 2 is the ‘actual champion.’ Aspinall thinks it is ‘bizarre’ that the heavyweight division has two titleholders and believes it flies within the face of what ‘it is all about.’
“Having one face, one identify, one champion from flyweight to heavyweight, that is what it is all about,” Aspinall mentioned. “That is what it is all the time been about for me. That is what it has been about for the followers. That is what it has been about for the corporate.
“Now, within the heavyweight division, there’s nonetheless two champions which is bizarre,” Aspinall continued. “There’s nonetheless a debate and there should not be a debate. That is MMA. This is not boxing. This is not different sports activities.”
