In front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden, Tom Aspinall produced a mesmeric performance to win the UFC interim heavyweight title, but had Dana White had his way, the Englishman may never have got his chance to scale the MMA mountain.
On an episode of Fight Inc: Inside the UFC, exclusive footage revealed that the President of the world’s premier combat sports organization wanted a very different match-up to replace the canceled collision between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
Dana White wanted a different fight to take place at UFC 295
On a night British fans will never forget, Tom Aspinall made his walk to the cage inside the most iconic arena on planet Earth and put on a showcase of mixed martial arts so iconic, many believe it rocked even the great ‘Bones’ Jones to his core.
Exhibiting remarkable boxing skills with the power to match, the Brit detonated a stunning right hand on Sergei Pavlovich’s chin, to send the terrifying Russian hurtling towards the canvas.
The result solidified Aspinall’s place in the MMA history books as the third English fighter to hold a version of the UFC title. However, like many iconic moments over the years, the fans could’ve missed out, as the MMA promotion’s first choice for the bill was the rematch between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.
The new behind-the-scenes documentary captures Dana White and his right-hand man, Hunter Campbell, discussing how they can save the card after Jones-Miocic fell by the wayside.
Pitching Aspinall’s shot at gold, Campbell said: “Here’s what we can do. If we do Aspinall and Pavlovich, it’s the legitimate fight with the two best young f***ing heavyweights in the world.
“They both can do it. I talked to Tom last night and said, ‘Just let me know what your weight is. I might be looking for a backup to the backup.’
NOT IDEAL: British UFC superstar predicts Paddy Pimblett will lose homecoming fight at UFC 304
“That’s what I told him last night, and he called me back and told me he’s in.”
But as salivating as the prospect of a brawl between two titans of the heavyweight division was, Campbell had another idea.
He suggested: “At least we have that. The other thing I could look at, I could try to see if Islam and Oliveira want to go. Islam took no f***ing damage. I don’t think he even took a single strike.
“Oliveira is in shape, and his cut will be ready by then too.”
Clearly taken by the idea, White interrupted: “I f***ing love that, actually. That’s a f***ing no-brainer.”
Understanding the mission at hand, the pair traded a fistbump before Campbell headed off to call Oliveria, who subsequently turned down the fight, prompting the UFC to announce Aspinall vs Pavlovich.
In a moment akin to the blockbuster movie ‘Sliding Doors’ the British hero’s life could’ve been very different had ‘Do Bronxs’ signed on the dotted line. But luckily, everything worked out, with the 31-year-old proving himself as the most dangerous competitor in the division, with a homecoming fight now scheduled for UFC 304 at the Co-op Arena in Manchester, UK.
However, as excited as he is to run it back with Curtis Blaydes, he isn’t particularly looking forward to fighting in the early hours of the morning.
Tom Aspinall has a plan to deal with the early start time at UFC 304
To optimize PPV buys for the American audience, the blockbuster event, which takes place on July 27, will go down in the middle of the night in the UK.
The difficult circumstances have forced fighters to think outside the box, with many securing the help of experts to ensure they can still perform at their best when they should really be asleep.
Aspinall has been particularly vocal about his infuriation regarding the timing of UFC 304. But like the rest of the competitors on the bill, he has conceded that there’s nothing he can do.
Thus, after speaking to Leon Edwards, he’s put together an interesting gameplan, which he recently explained in great detail is a rather simple one, copying ‘Rocky’.
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