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Tom Aspinall voiced his point of view on why he deserves to fight Jon Jones next.
On Saturday, November 11, Jones was supposed to defend his heavyweight title in the UFC 295 main event against Stipe Miocic. Unfortunately, ‘Bones’ pulled out with a torn pectoral muscle, leading to Aspinall becoming the interim champion with a first-round knockout win against Sergei Pavlovich.
Following UFC 295, Dana White confirmed that the plan is to re-schedule Jones vs. Miocic once the heavyweight king returns. The only problem is Aspinall wants to fight ‘Bones,’ so he might have to wait for him to fight Miocic or defend his interim throne in the meantime.
During an interview with TMZ Sports, Aspinall had this to say about what he wants next, which was transcribed by TMZ:
"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."
Tom Aspinall further explains why he should fight Jon Jones next
Tom Aspinall has discussed several times that his dream fight would be a title bout against Jon Jones. Therefore, he seems to be in a similar situation as Stipe Miocic, with neither fighter wanting to risk losing a clash with ‘Bones.’
During the aforementioned interview with TMZ Sports, Aspinall continued making a case for why he should fight Jones next:
"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."
Tom Aspinall’s UFC tenure has featured ups and downs, especially over the last year and a half. Luckily, he recovered from the knee injury he sustained against Curtis Blaydes to secure back-to-back first-round knockouts and his first taste of UFC gold.
