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Tom Aspinall was able to capture the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295 as he defeated Sergei Pavlovich via first-round knockout. While it is rare to see fighters defend an interim title, it appears that the No.1-ranked heavyweight hinted that he could do just that later this year.
Speaking in a Q&A on his YouTube channel, Aspinall was asked:
"Have you heard if Manchester is happening in July and will you be on the card?"
He responded:
"Well, I cannot confirm or deny because I will be getting told off if I do either, but I'm hearing strong rumors and I'm in talks right now with the UFC about what's going to happen, what's going to be our next steps, stuff like that. Nothing I can announce yet. Nothing like set in stone yet, but we're moving in the right direction with it all."
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments on his return to the octagon below:
Aspinall had previously angled to face Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic in an undisputed title bout or title eliminator, respectively. Both fighters and the promotion, however, were content with moving forward with the heavyweight title bout that was planned before 'Bones' tore the tendon that connects the pectoral muscle to the bone.
It appears that, in the meantime, the No.1-ranked heavyweight will defend his interim title. There have been talks that a rematch with Curtis Blaydes could be an option.
Tom Aspinall shares what he would do next if he were Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou suffered a second-round knockout loss to Anthony Joshua earlier this month. While there have been suggestions that 'The Predator' should retire from boxing, Tom Aspinall recently disagreed with that notion. Speaking to OLBG, the interim heavyweight champion stated:
"Those punches that Francis Ngannou got hit with, it was scary to watch wasn’t it, let’s be honest. It looked like he was going to be asleep for a week. It was ridiculous. They were absolute thunderous punches he got hit with. What he’s going to do next is ultimately up to him. If I was in his position, I’d go where the money is — and as far as I’m aware — the money right now is in boxing, so that’s what I’d do." [h/t MMA Fighting]
Aspinall noted that boxing is not as easy as mixed martial artists seem to suggest. Despite the vicious knockout loss, Ngannou has shared that he plans to return to boxing. It is unclear, however, if his next bout will be in boxing or MMA.
