{"id":293977,"date":"2023-11-13T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=293977"},"modified":"2023-11-13T21:25:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T21:25:00","slug":"whats-next-for-tom-aspinall-after-ufc-295-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/mma\/whats-next-for-tom-aspinall-after-ufc-295-win\/","title":{"rendered":"What&apos;s next for Tom Aspinall after UFC 295 win?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>After becoming the third British UFC champion ever, Tom Aspinall has a number of options for his next move&#8230; from a fight with Jon Jones to a potential defence of the interim title &#8211; what&#8217;s next for the heavyweight star?<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>British star Tom Aspinall won the UFC&#8217;s interim heavyweight title on Saturday\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Here, Mail Sport takes a look at the options for the heavyweight heading forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Eddie Hearn on his greatest-ever boxing venue: Listen here to The Hook\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On Saturday night, Tom Aspinall wrote his name in the history books after becoming just the third British champion ever in the UFC.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Aspinall joined retired star Michael Bisping and current welterweight champion Leon Edwards as a British UFC title-holder after beating Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.<\/p>\n<p>Aspinall accepted the fight on short-notice, following an injury to heavyweight champion Jon Jones, but still managed to step up to the occasion and became the interim title holder.<\/p>\n<p>However, with Jones set to be on the side-lines until mid-2024 and little other options for the 30-year-old, Aspinall may have come to a crossroads already.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So, here, <span>Mail Sport<\/span> takes a look at the potential options for Aspinall after becoming the UFC&#8217;s interim heavyweight champion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/13\/12\/77728221-12742737-image-a-1_1699878068344.jpg\" height=\"432\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>British star Tom Aspinall claimed the UFC&#8217;s interim heavyweight title on Saturday night<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/13\/12\/77728225-12742737-image-a-3_1699878093751.jpg\" height=\"476\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Aspinall produced a stunning KO to defeat Sergei Pavlovich during the main event at UFC 295<\/p>\n<h2>Possible fight with Jon Jones\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s no secret that Aspinall&#8217;s immediate goal would be to unify his heavyweight title by facing current champion Jon Jones.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking after his win over Pavlovich, Aspinall confirmed such desires and suggested that Wembley stadium would be the perfect venue for the bout.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He said: &#8216;I&#8217;ve seen Jon talking nice stuff about me on a podcast as well, it&#8217;s really nice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Obviously it&#8217;s always nice to hear nice things about you, but from someone like that who I massively look up to even more so. Thank you, Jon, and just give me the opportunity. Let me do it, give me my dream fight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I think if we do the greatest fighter of all time versus the UK heavyweight champion of the UFC in the UK, that would be insane. Let&#8217;s do it.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>However, the American is set for a lengthy lay-off after he\u00a0tore a tendon in his pectoral muscle and was ruled out for an initial eight months.<\/p>\n<p>And, while the fight with two-time heavyweight champion Miocic will not happen in November, Jones still appears keen on the matchup in the future eventually.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/13\/12\/77728227-12742737-image-a-4_1699878275971.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Jon Jones had initially been scheduled to headline UFC 295 before pulling out with an injury<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The goal is to get surgery and get back to work as soon as possible,&#8217; Jones said. &#8216;I guess it&#8217;ll be Stipe and I at a later date and that&#8217;s my plan.&#8217;\u00a0\u00a0<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>UFC supremo Dana White agreed with Jones&#8217; take when asked about the future of the heavyweight division after UFC 295.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When asked whether Aspinall has overtaken Miocic in the race to fight Jones, White said: &#8216;No. You do those two [Jones and Miocic]. Those two both deserve that fight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;That&#8217;s the fight they want. JJ, as soon as he heard that he was injured, went right to LA and got the surgery. He&#8217;s already in physical therapy&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>It means that, if Aspinall wants to fight Jones, he&#8217;ll likely have to sit on the sidelines up until next summer &#8211; which is unheard of for an interim champion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/13\/12\/77728229-12742737-image-a-5_1699878287078.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>UFC chief Dana White has said that Jones will fight Stipe Miocic for his comeback fight<\/p>\n<h2>Fighting the No. 1 Contender\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Shortly after Aspinall&#8217;s stunning knockout against Pavlovich, the number one ranked heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane was quick to voice his opinion on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Gane wrote: &#8216;Congratulations, Tom. You are now the champion and become the one being pursued, and I am the hunter. See you soon&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Gane&#8217;s last fight came in September, when he delivered a brutal second-round knockout against Serghei Spivac at UFC Paris.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to that win, Gane was submitted within the first-round by Jon Jones, who ended a three-year lay-off by beating the French star.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While a fight with Gane would no doubt be welcomed by UFC fans across the globe, it would pose a, somewhat, unnecessary risk for Aspinall.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The British star essentially has a fight with Jones guaranteed, even if he has to wait after Miocic, but could jeopardise that with a match-up with Gane.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Frenchman would pose a serious threat to Aspinall&#8217;s interim title and, having only been defeated by Jones and Francis Ngannou, could be a massive obstacle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Should Aspinall take on Gane and lose, it would leave him without an interim title and, once again, needing to prove his credentials.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/13\/12\/77736107-12742737-image-a-7_1699878512844.jpg\" height=\"201\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/13\/12\/77736037-12742737-image-a-6_1699878430174.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ciryl Gane has called for a fight with Aspinall after watching the British star win on Saturday<\/p>\n<h2>A &#8216;filler&#8217; fight until Jones is ready?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the face that a unifying fight against Jones is what Aspinall wants and a interim defence against Gane is likely what fans want &#8211; neither are all too likely to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Aspinall won&#8217;t wait until mid-2024 to fight Jones and a match-up with Gane, as previously discussed, is a high-risk low-reward fight for the Brit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, it still remains important that Aspinall stays active whilst he waits for Jones and, so, one fight in between a bout with &#8216;Bones&#8217; still makes sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thus, another option on the table for Aspinall is to fight a lesser contender while he waits for Jones and Miocic to settle their differences.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One likely contender for that is number seven ranked heavyweight Jailton Almeida, who recently recorded an impressive win over Derrick Lewis.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Almeida is known for his impressive grappling ability &#8211; which is rare in the heavyweight division &#8211; and could pose a unique threat to Aspinall&#8217;s interim title.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/13\/12\/77736143-12742737-image-a-8_1699878565001.jpg\" height=\"463\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Rising Brazilian contender Jailton Almeida could work as a fight inbetween Aspinall vs Jones<\/p>\n<p>The 32-year-old is unbeaten in his six UFC outings thus far and has been on a collision course with the top of the rankings since his arrival in the company.<\/p>\n<p>A bout with Almeida would be nowhere near the risk that a bout with Gane would be and would keep the interim champion active until Jones is ready to return.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, despite suggestions this would be a decent match-up, Aspinall suggested that Almeida should take on Gane &#8211; with the winner then facing him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When speaking on a fight with Gane, Aspinall said during his post-fight press conference: &#8216;I think he should fight Almeida. I think them guys should fight eachother first and see what happens then&#8217;.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2023\/10\/25\/The%20Hook_Promo_Desktop.636.png\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/mma\/article-12742737\/After-British-UFC-champion-Tom-Aspinall-number-options-fight-Jon-Jones-potential-defence-interim-title-whats-heavyweight-star.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After becoming the third British UFC champion ever, Tom Aspinall has a number of options for his next move&#8230; from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What&amp;apos;s next for Tom Aspinall after UFC 295 win? 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