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Tom Aspinall doesn’t want to twiddle his thumbs for a year waiting for Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic to fight — the interim heavyweight champ says he respects the heavyweight G.O.A.T., but his time has passed — and it’s only right the two champs unify the belt!
TMZ Sports talked to Aspinall on Wednesday and asked about his plans moving forward.
“I want to fight Jon Jones, man. And this is no disrespect to Stipe at all. After a performance like Saturday night, who really cares about 42-year-old Stipe who has not fought for 3 or 4 years coming back and fighting Jon Jones. Ya know what I mean? I just knocked out the scariest dude in the UFC in a minute.”
Of course, Aspinall only needed 1 minute and 9 seconds to dispatch of Sergei Pavlovich — arguably the scariest guy in the division because of his incredible punching power — at UFC 295, securing the interim title at Madison Square Garden.
Tom went on to make his case for the Jones scrap, saying, “I know it’s like a big respect thing. Stipe is like the greatest heavyweight ever and Jon Jones is arguably the greatest MMA fighter ever. I get that. I completely get that, but it’s also about relevance. It’s also about excitement. It’s also about what puts people in seats, what people are gonna buy pay-per-views, and I’m more exciting than anybody right now. I deserve a shot. I’m the champion.”
Aspinall continued … “Jon Jones is the champion. I’m not saying he’s not. But I’m a champion as well and Stipe, and this is no disrespect to Stipe at all, I’m a massive fan of his, but Stipe at this point was guy who hasn’t fought in three years and is coming off a loss.”
Many people around the sport agree with Tom, but that doesn’t mean it’s a lock to happen. In fact, Dana White has said he intends to re-book the Jones-Miocic fight when Jon gets healthy.
Aspinall was only in the Octagon at MSG because the JJ vs. Stipe fight was scrapped over the injury.
It remains to be seen if the UFC honcho changes course and unifies the belts.
There’s much more with the interim UFC champ … we talked top Tom about how life has changed since Saturday night, how he plans to celebrate achieving his lifelong dream, and what did Pavlovich’s power actually feel like?!
Check out the clip!