Tom Aspinall has called up Jon Jones for a showdown at Wembley Stadium, but UFC chief Dana White has suggested other plans for the American.
Aspinall became the third British UFC champion on Saturday night after knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round of their fight at Madison Square Garden.
The 30-year-old landed a powerful right hook that sent Pavlovich tumbling to the ground, before following up with several ground strikes to end the match.
In doing so, Aspinall claimed the UFC’s interim heavyweight championship – after Jones withdrew from a fight initially scheduled with Stipe Miocic due to injury.
And during his post-fight press conference, Aspinall made it clear that he is eyeing a duel with the American for his next fight.
Tom Aspinall called out Jon Jones after his UFC interim heavyweight title win
Jones was initially set to headline the UFC 295 card but withdrew due to injury
He said: ‘I’ve also seen Jon talk nice things about me on a podcast, it’s really nice.
‘Of course it’s always nice to hear nice things about you, but even more so from someone like that who I really look up to. Thanks, Jon, and give me the chance. Let me do it, give me my dream fight.
When pressed on where he imagines a fight with Jones, Aspinall said: “That would be incredible. It doesn’t have to be in Manchester.
“But I think if we were to pit the greatest fighter of all time against the British heavyweight champion of the UFC in Britain, that would be insane. Let’s do it.’
After Aspinall’s victory, Jones posted on That was a great achievement!’.
Despite Aspinall’s heroics at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, UFC supremo Dana White isn’t convinced Aspinall deserves a matchup with Jones.
As previously mentioned, Jones was originally scheduled to fight Miocic before withdrawing due to injury.
When asked if Aspinall has overtaken Miocic in the race to fight Jones, White said: “No. You do those two (Jones and Miocic). Those two both deserve that fight.
Aspinall scored a huge KO win over Sergei Pavlovich to claim the championship belt
Despite Aspinall’s victory, White suggested the British star will not fight Jon Jones next
“That’s the fight they want. JJ, as soon as he heard he was injured, went straight to LA and had surgery. He’s already in physical therapy.’
Miocic was seen limping as he attended UFC 295 after his fight with Jon Jones was canceled.
Fans were quick to suggest that the heavyweight could have been ‘killed by Jones’ after seeing him apparently limping.
Miocic’s last MMA fight was in 2021, when he lost to Francis Ngannou. He has won a total of twenty fights and suffered four losses.