Tom Aspinall sets sights on Jon Jones showdown if he beats Sergei Pavlovich for interim title at UFC 295, as he warns that Russian ‘has never fought someone who moves like me’

British UFC star Tom Aspinall still has his sights set on Jon Jones despite the American’s injury as he prepares to fight Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

The win would see him clinch the interim title and effectively put himself in line to meet the winner of Jones vs Miocic, which may not happen for another year.

“I’m fine with the interim,” Aspinall said during UFC 295 media day. ‘I’m not that worried about it. Everything will work itself out, I’m sure. Jon Jones is clearly one of the best to ever do this. I would love to share the octagon with him someday. I have a lot of respect for him. I absolutely love his playing. Big fan of his.

“Whether it’s the interim title or the vacant title, it doesn’t really matter to me.

“I’d like to fight Jon Jones,” Aspinall said. ‘I’ve been saying that all along. It’s no disrespect to Jon Jones. I couldn’t respect him more for what he has done in the sport. I would definitely like to fight Jon Jones next.”

Jon Jones’ injury ruled him out of the match with Stipe Miocic and the fight was disallowed

Aspinall and Pavlovich are the next generation of heavyweights and both possess top speed and punching power.

Pavlovich has won his last six fights by first-round knockouts, making him the most feared man on the UFC roster.

But Aspinall took the fight on two-and-a-half weeks’ notice and says it shows how confident he is, both physically and mentally.

“My pre-injury would never have taken a fight like this,” Aspinall explained. ‘Absolutely never. I guess that just tells you where I am mentally. I would never have done this before I injured my knee. Because I had been struggling with a bad knee for a long time.

‘I train with heavyweights like every day. Every day for 18 months now, so I know exactly where my body is.

‘I think I used to guess a bit where my body was because I didn’t train regularly with heavyweights and now I train with heavyweights every day.

“I know I have the size and the strength and everything else, the physical attributes to fight and I know when I’m ready to fight.

“Obviously, I wouldn’t have taken this fight if I didn’t think I was close to ready. I now have much more self-confidence and am making progress.’

So where can Aspinall find room to exploit Pavlovich’s shortcomings? For the Wigan native, he has to focus on himself as the Russian has barely shown a chink in his armor.

Pavlovich is a young, hungry contender, competing with Aspinall for interim gold

Aspinall (right), seen here defeating Marcin Tybura, could be the third Briton to win a UFC title

“I can’t really find any weakness (in Sergei Pavlovich),” Aspinall said. “I don’t think anyone can look at his fights and say, ‘This is where he’s good and this is where he’s bad,’ because he’s not really showing much bad at the moment. I just have to do my thing.

“The biggest advantage I have is that he hasn’t fought anyone who moves anything like me, because there’s no guy in the heavyweight division who moves like me.

‘So you can’t prepare for me. It’s very difficult for my training partners, who train with me every day, to figure out what I’m doing.

“Guys who have never experienced anything like my movement, that’s the biggest advantage I have.”