Tom Aspinall has fired back at critics telling him to fight another top heavyweight contender instead of fellow UFC champion Jon Jones next.
Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight title on just over two weeks notice by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in just 69-seconds last month. All signs now point to a match-up against the consensus greatest MMA fighter of all-time in Jones, but UFC boss Dana White has insisted that Stipe Miocic is next in line for the undisputed champion.
Having left the cage relatively unscathed after his recent world title win, Aspinall doesn’t want to sit around for too long on the sidelines. Some fans have called him to defend his interim belt against Ciryl Gane, but Aspinall has insisted he wants Jones or Miocic to serve as his next opponent.
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“I always knew I had the best skill in the heavyweight division, I just hadn’t proved it yet," he told Mirror Fighting . "Even though I’ve got a title now, I’ve still now proved it. I’ve got a lot more work to do before I’m anywhere near satisfied. No disrespect to Jones or anybody else but if people are classing this guy as the best of all time, I want to prove myself against him.
“The same goes for Stipe, I’m getting some hate from people saying ‘You shouldn’t do this, you should be fighting contenders’. I’ve got all the time in the world to fight contenders, I’ve got another 10 years left to do that. Right now I’ve got a really short window against two guys who people are saying are the best of all time, give me my shot."
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There are a lack of other heavyweight contenders for Aspinall to defend his belt against and the Brit has suggested that Gane should face rising star Jailton Almeida in his next bout. Jones is currently recovering from a pectoral tear that forced him out of a scheduled fight with Miocic last month, as their fight seems unlikely to take place until April at the earliest.
Aspinall recognises he is in a race against the clock to face Jones and Miocic as retirement could be on the cards for both of the fighters next year. “Give me the chance, I want to best the of all time and I want to take it from those guys. I’m going to be around for long time but those guys aren’t, so I want to do it whilst they still are," he added.