Tom Aspinall says that he “absolutely” fears facing Jon Jones but is adamant that this trepidation is a good thing for finding the right motivation.
Tom Aspinall looks in great shape as he prepares for what many fans expect to be a summer return in Manchester and whilst the British star remains reluctant to offer any details, the interim heavyweight champion has revealed that talks with the UFC are now underway.
Negotiations are underway for Aspinall’s return fight
Earlier this week, Dana White confirmed to TNT Sports that a numbered PPV card is coming to the UK, with rumors being that the event will be held in Manchester, not London, sometime in late July.
One man who would be expected to feature in either the main or co-main event is interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who recently confirmed that negotiations are underway with the UFC behind the scenes.
Speaking via his official YouTube channel, Aspinall said that he’s hearing “strong rumors” about the Manchester PPV but “cannot confirm or deny because I will be getting told off if I do either.”
“I’m in talks right now with the UFC about what’s going to happen, what’s going to be our next step. It’s nothing that I can announce anything yet – nothing like set in stone yet, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
‘Fear’ of Jon Jones is nothing more than fuel for the fire
Despite the extended time away from the octagon and the various injuries sustained in recent years, Jon Jones remains one of the most dangerous and intimidating athletes on the UFC roster.
Whilst the idea of facing ‘Bones’ in a locked cage would instill a certain sense of fear for almost anyone on the planet, interim champion Tom Aspinall is adamant that fearing such an opponent is a good thing:
“Do I fear him? Absolutely. I fear all of my opponents, like these guys are the best in the world, the absolute best in the world. Absolutely I fear him but that fuels me. I want to prove that I’m the best in the world.”
Unfortunately, Aspinall also appears to be losing hope of getting that opportunity given both Jones’ inactivity and commitment to the Miocic fight:
“I’m obviously confident that I could beat Jon Jones because I want to fight him, I’m not making it a secret that I want to fight him, but I’ve done everything that I can until this point…I want to fight Jon Jones but he doesn’t, so there’s not a lot I can do about that.”
Aspinall still has unfinished business with Curtis Blaydes
Whilst the vast majority of MMA fans would undoubtedly rather see Jones face Aspinall for the undisputed championship, ‘Bones’ has made it quite clear that he’s solely focused on fighting Stipe Miocic next.
For Aspinall, this means that he will probably have to take at least one more fight, a defense of his interim championship, before an undisputed title shot emerges.
Unsurprisingly, there was just one name on the British heavyweight’s mind as to who this could be; the only man to have had his hand raised over Aspinall since 2016 – Curtis Blaydes.
“I’d like to fight Curtis Blaydes because when I fought him, I got injured and that means technically that he wins – and I don’t like that,” said the 30-year-old.
“I want to be the winner, not Curtis Blaydes, so all respect to Curtis and everything. I like him, he’s a good guy but professionally, I owe him a beating…That’s what I want to do next.”