Since Tom Aspinall won the UFC interim heavyweight title back in November, there have been no signs of a title unification bout with Jon Jones happening, up until this past Thursday at the UFC 304 press conference.
Tom Aspinall is set to defend his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes this Saturday at UFC 304, joining a small group of fighters to defend their interim title.
Although the 31-year-old Brit is the interim champ, there have been no signs of a heavyweight title unification bout with Jon Jones, as both he and the UFC continue to push a possible bout against Stipe Miocic.
Dana White confirms the winner of Aspinall vs Blaydes will fight the winner of Jones vs Miocic
Aspinall, along with the majority of the MMA fanbase believes that his fight against ‘Razor’ Blaydes in the UFC 304 co-main event, is to determine the best heavyweight on the planet, and is for the real undisputed title.
“This is the fight between the two best heavyweights in the world, me and this guy (Blaydes), this guy is f****** legit,” Aspinall admitted at the UFC 304 press conference this past Thursday.
After continuously campaigning for a fight against ‘Bones’, Aspinall had come to the conclusion that he would likely never get to fulfill his dream by stepping into the cage with the 37-year-old.
Not only that, but when UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira revealed his desire to move up to heavyweight to challenge for another belt, the Atherton native admitted that Jones vs Pereira is ‘far more likely’ to happen than him vs Jones.
Despite that, when UFC CEO, Dana White, was asked if the plan is for the winner of Aspinall vs Blaydes to fight the winner of Jones vs Miocic, the boss replied, ‘Absolutely’.
‘Bones’ and Miocic were scheduled to meet last November, but after suffering a torn pectoral, Jones withdrew from the bout. The 37-year-old has teased online that the bout will finally happen this coming November, although it still hasn’t been officially announced.
Aspinall teases ‘the best walkout in UFC history’ for UFC 304
First, though, Aspinall will need to avenge the only loss of his UFC career so far. When he and Blaydes met in 2022, the bout ended after just 10 seconds when the 31-year-old stepped back after throwing a kick, tearing his ACL.
The Atherton native will be fighting in the Co-op Arena which is only 20 minutes away from where he lives, and he has teased that his walkout will be the greatest walkout in UFC history.
The last time Aspinall fought in the UK, against Marcin Tybura, his walkout involved words from heavyweight boxing champion, Tyson Fury.
“This may be the best walkout in UFC history coming up when I’m fighting on Saturday night. I’m not gonna tell anyone what it is yet, but it’s gonna be insane,” Aspinall teased.
Former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has become well-known for a few iconic UFC walkouts, and fellow Brit, Michael ‘Venom’ Page also put on an entertaining walkout for his UFC debut this past March.
Having said that, one of the most iconic walkouts in UFC history so far came from featherweight, Brian Ortega, when he walked out to ‘The Purge’ music, with him and his team wearing Purge masks.
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