Tom Aspinall shares UFC HW scoop, Renan Ferreira issues statement, Khamzat Chimaev talks mystery illness: MMA News Roundup

Tom Aspinall shares inside news on the UFC heavyweight scene involving Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. Elsewhere, Khamzat Chimaev shed light on the illness that forced him out of the first Robert Whittaker fight.

Read on to find out more about today's top combat sports news.

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Tom Aspinall shares inside scoop on UFC heavyweight scene

Tom Aspinall told Adam Catterall of UFC on TNT Sports that Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will show up for their much-awaited heavyweight clash at UFC 309 on Nov. 16, 2024. The fight will go down at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Aspinall, who holds the interim heavyweight belt, is the official backup fighter for the event.

Aspinall said:

"As we know now, officially, I will step in if an injury is to happen, but it's looking like both guys are going to turn up so I'm excited for the fight."

As for his next fight, Aspinall revealed:

"We got a plan now. Before, we were just kind of guessing and feeling out what's going to happen next, but now, I and the UFC have spoken at length and we've come to a 2025 road map of what is going to happen with the heavyweight title and it's going to be exciting."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (1:35):

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Renan Ferreira issues statement after loss to Francis Ngannou

Renan Ferreira remained classy in his social media statement after suffering a first-round TKO loss to Francis Ngannou. The two clashed heads on Saturday, Oct. 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants card.

Ngannou overwhelmed the 6'8" Brazilian with wrestling prowess and finished the fight punishing him with explosive ground-and-pound.

Ferreira later addressed the defeat on Instagram Stories in Portuguese:

"Hey guys, Renan 'Problema' here, a bit broken. Yesterday wasn’t a good day at work, guys, but I’m very happy with all our dedication and everything that developed through our work."

He went on to give Ngannou his due props:

"Unfortunately, my opponent was superior. He managed to impose a game where that I couldn’t defend the takedowns, which led to very hard ground-and-pound to get through. And that’s it, life goes on, we’ll be back. I want to thank everyone for all the love and support, we’re always together. Hugs." [Translation H/T: MMA Junkie]

The loss ended Ferreira's four-fight winning streak, which included a win over Bellator heavyweight king Ryan Bader.

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Khamzat Chimaev opens up on "violent" illness

Khamzat Chimaev was forced out of the first fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia due to health complications that Dana White described as a "violent" illness. The Chechen fighter has been struggling with his health since contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic which almost made him retire from the sport.

Speaking on the UFC 308 Countdown promo video, Chimaev broke the silence on the mysterious illness that kept him away from the octagon:

"We [were] in training camp, the first month was very good. In the last three weeks, my immunity goes down. I don’t know what happened. All the guys ate the same food [but] only I got sick."

'Borz' continued:

"I was in the hospital for a couple of days. I came out and started training again and the same s*** happened again. The doctor said to me, ‘You need to just be off from the gym and not training, not doing nothing."

Check out Khamzat Chimaev's explanation below (05:00):

Chimaev will face Whittaker in a rebooked fight at UFC 308 on Oct. 26, 2024, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.