Tom Aspinall is planning to put the cat amongst the pigeons in New York City this month when he returns to America in pursuit of his biggest fight yet.
The Brit is the current interim heavyweight champion, but appears to be regularly disregarded by both Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic as they prepare to square off at UFC 309. In the time since Miocic last competed in the promotion, Aspinall has been stopping everyone in his path.
Even though he has won and even defended his interim belt, it seems Aspinall is no closer to a shot at either man than he ever has been. But he has offered his services as back-up for the New York fight, and will weigh-in, while also making his presence felt in other ways.
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Tom Aspinall has plans for UFC 309 fight week
Ahead of his return to the Big Apple, Tom Aspinall shared a video to YouTube where he spoke about what his intentions are from his trip. He is keen to see both of the legendary heavyweights up close in person, and see about a potential fight with the winner.
“What’s the plan?” He said after a training session. “Turn up, do some media, cause a few scenes here and there, and try and make the winner stick around and fight me. Just see what happens, really. I’m really interested in how both guys look in the fight, that’s really interesting for me.
“I want to go up close and see what these guys look like in live action. How are they moving? What are they doing? You can see little differences in real life [more] than you can on the TV. I’m looking forward to that.”
Retirement looms for both fighters after UFC 309
The issue that has emerged for Aspinall is the looming retirement of both men. Miocic is now 42-years-old and last competed in March of 2021, when he was viciously knocked out by Francis Ngannou at UFC 2021.
“I don’t know,” Miocic told Jake Paul when he was asked about retirement during a recent episode of his podcast BS with Jake Paul. “I say it after every fight, I think about retiring. So, we’ll see. Right now, I’m just worried about the fight, and I can worry about that after it until it happens.”
And Jones, who was forced out of the initial fight between the pair this time last year with a pectoral injury, has been much more aggressive with his retirement plans. He regularly insists that this will be his final fight, regardless of the outcome.
Speaking with Clocked N’ Loaded back in September at UFC 306 Jones was asked about his future in the octagon, to which he replied: “This is going to be the last time, the last time, more than likely… I feel great, yeah, I feel really, really good; 250lb lean and strong.”