Tag: Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall: Matchup with Sergei Pavlovich is ‘the most exciting fight in the heavyweight division’

Tom Aspinall says a fight against Sergei Pavlovich is the most exciting fight that can be done at heavyweight.

The UFC’s heavyweight division is arguably the best it has ever been. Yet, despite the competitive times, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is confident he’s one side of the most exciting fight you can make in the weight class.

The British heavyweight contender thinks a fight with [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] would be the most thrilling pairing possible in the division. Both Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Pavlovich (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) are aspiring champions and are considered threats to the title. They also have a combined 25 knockouts out of 31 total wins.

“I think it’s going to be Pavlovich who I fight next, if you ask me,” Aspinall said on UFC Unfiltered. “That’s it. That’s the ideal situation, me and Pavlovich.

“I think it’s the most exciting fight in the heavyweight division right now. I believe that right now I have the shortest average time in the UFC, and he has the second-shortest average time, which is wild. Stick us two in the cage and see what happens. It’s going to be absolutely insane.”

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Although Aspinall is confident Pavlovich will be the name he draws next, he isn’t completely sure what the stakes will be.

Jon Jones, who currently holds the heavyweight title, is slated to defend the belt against Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 295 on Nov. 11 in New York. Jones has been vocal about being close to retirement, and Miocic, 41, has been fighting for a long time.

Aspinall has no clue what’s going to happen at the top of the division beyond UFC 295, though.

“That’s the big question, and we’re in a bit of a strange situation with the heavyweight division right now,” Aspinall said. “Usually it’s who’s going to win the fight. In this situation, it’s who’s going to win the fight and who’s going to retire? Are they both going to retire? Or is no one going to retire? What’s going to happen?

“My path to the heavyweight title is – I don’t know. I’m not one of them guys who wants to sit out and wait my turn. That’s not really my scene. I’m not looking past anybody. If I’m healthy, I’m ready to go. I’ll fight anybody. I’m willing to do whatever I can or whatever it takes to prove to everybody and myself that I deserve to be the heavyweight champion. I know I can do it.”

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Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones could elevate Tom Aspinall, Serghei Pavlovich but why?

Daniel Cormier understands why Jon Jones wouldn’t be motivated to fight young contenders at this point in his career.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] understands why [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] wouldn’t be motivated to fight young contenders at this point in his career.

Heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) makes his first title defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in the UFC 295 headliner on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Chomping at the bit for their shot at gold are rising contenders [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], and [autotag]Serghei Pavlovich[/autotag], who will serve as the official backup for Jones vs. Miocic. But Cormier says Jones doesn’t think he has much to gain in these fights.

“My profile was much bigger after (our) interactions,” Cormier said on Jones on his YouTube channel. “Then Stipe Miocic was bigger after him and I went through our trilogy. It really does kind of follow that same formula, where once you fight a guy that’s established, your status kind of grows. Jon Jones could elevate those guys, but why?”

Jones’ best performances in his light heavyweight title reign came over the likes of Cormier, Quinton Jackson, and Rashad Evans. But once he started taking on lesser established names such as Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes, Jones’ performances fell flat.

“Bones” recently said Aspinall and Pavlovich wouldn’t make too much business sense, but Cormier disagrees.

“See, the difference is this: … I was 35 the first time I fought Jones, but he was already the man,” Cormier said. “‘Rampage’ was in his 30s when he fought Jones. Rashad was in his 30s, I was in my mid-30s. Everybody was in their 30s until he got to guys like Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Reyes – and Jones was kind of like, ‘Eh, those guys don’t get me excited. I went from fighting all these legends to fighting these young guys who don’t really get the juices pumping.’

“But in this one, he says about Aspinall and Sergei, who would absolutely get the juices pumping, he just isn’t interested because now, he’s weighing the business vs. the actual competition. To me, I feel like Jon Jones in a headliner, it doesn’t really change much in regards to who he’s fighting. He did over 700,000 buys against Ciryl Gane. He would probably do 700,000 buys against Tom Aspinall, he’d do 700,000 against Sergei Pavlovich. So what is he saying? He just doesn’t want to fight those young, hard-punching, hard-charging guys?”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

Tom Aspinall ‘more than happy’ to face Sergei Pavlovich if Ciryl Gane doesn’t want fight

Tom Aspinall says he’s willing to take on “the big Russian fella nobody wants” in Sergei Pavlovich if Ciryl Gane won’t fight him.

Make no mistake about it, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] wants to fight Ciryl Gane, but it doesn’t look like the feeling is mutual.

Aspinall has been very vocal about wanting to fight Gane next as he looks to make his way to the UFC heavyweight title – so much so that Aspinall flew to Paris to witness Gane’s return fight against Serghei Spivac, which he won by second-round TKO.

But after UFC Fight Night 226, Gane said he wanted to sit and wait to see what happened in the upcoming UFC heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic in November.

Aspinall won’t try to force things, even if his No.1 choice is to fight Gane.

“I’m no bully,” Aspinall told The MacLife. “If he doesn’t want the fight, I’m not going to try and force it on him. I wanted to go in the cage. The UFC didn’t want me to go in the cage. Yeah, if he wants the fight, it’s here. If he doesn’t want the fight, we’ll see. I know I’m a bad matchup for him. I think that stylistically it’s a good matchup for me, but if he doesn’t want it, then I understand.”

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If Gane insists on not wanting to fight Aspinall for the time being, the Englishman has no problem fighting someone few heavyweights dare to call out – Sergei Pavlovich.

“Well, that only leaves one guy left: the big Russian fella who nobody wants,” Aspinall said. “I’m happy to step up and take that. Like I’m more than happy to fight Sergei Pavlovich. I was supposed to fight two times before. The fights didn’t happen for whatever reason. Yeah, let’s do it. I’m happy to fight anyone that gets me close to the title.”

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Tom Aspinall: Serghei Spivac ‘stylistically a bad matchup for Ciryl Gane,’ fight not as one-sided as people think

Heading into UFC Paris, Tom Aspinall believes people are counting out Serghei Spivac too easily.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] believes [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag] is being counted out too much against [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag].

Spivac (16-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) meets former interim heavyweight champion Gane (11-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 226 main event at Accor Arena in Paris. The event streams on ESPN+.

Gane will look to rebound from his quick submission loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285. Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who will be in attendance for the fight, holds a quick TKO finish over Spivac. But he thinks Spivac’s grappling could pose problems for Gane.

“He does not like another guy on top of him roughing him up,” Aspinall said of Gane on the “Fight Disciples” podcast. “There’s no answer to it. That’s why he does a lot of flicking in and out movements, which, granted, he’s very, very good at. But against someone like Spivac, who’s a front-foot fighter, who’s a strong grappler, you need to get him on the back foot.

“So, I don’t think this fight’s as one-sided as a lot of people are thinking. A lot of people are going out there thinking, ‘Oh yeah, Ciryl Gane’s a lot better than him.’ Granted, he looks a lot better, he’s a better striker, he’s definitely a better mover, his punches are more accurate, he’s probably more of a complete fighter than Spivac is. But stylistically it’s a bad matchup for Ciryl Gane.”

According to BetMGM, Spivac is a +140 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the Moldovan fighter would win $140 profit. Gane is a -165 favorite, meaning a $165 bet would be needed on “Bon Gamin” to return $100 profit.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 226.

Jon Jones lukewarm on UFC heavyweight contenders, thinks Tom Aspinall can be ‘really special’

UFC champ Jon Jones is open to fighting the next crop of heavyweight contenders, but it will come down to the magnitude of potential fights.

UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is open to fighting the next crop of contenders, but it will ultimately come down to the magnitude of potential fights.

If Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) is able to defend his belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November and opts not to retire, he has some potentially intriguing opponents on the horizon in [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] and Sergei Pavlovich.

Jones admits he’s impressed by what both men are doing in the division, but at 36 and with a long UFC career already behind him, he’s not fighting just for the sake of it. He needs it to be significant, and in his mind, that falls on contenders like Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Pavlovich (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) to bring their public notoriety to a certain level.

“They’re amazing – don’t get me wrong,” Jones said on the OverDogs Podcast. “They’re starching people in the first round. But as I get older, I have to look at it as a business and not just speak out of pride, but speak as my legacy and as a business. If the hardcore fans know who these guys are, that’s great. But at the end of the day I have to fight people that the mainstream public is going to be excited about. Because when you’re in my position, there’s always going to be this new challenge that’s younger than you that everyone wants to see you do it one more time.”

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Despite being uncertain about whether they will ever fight, Jones did heap praise on Aspinall, who has been very vocal about his desire to challenge Jones since his recent first-round TKO of Marcin Tybura last month at UFC Fight Night 224.

Jones thinks Aspinall is going to be a factor at heavyweight for years to come. It’s just a matter of whether timing and circumstances will lead to them colliding inside the octagon.

“Tom Aspinall, I think he really has the potential to do something really special in the heavyweight division,” Jones said. “I think he’s going to be hard for the majority of guys to beat. I really do believe that.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

Tom Aspinall: Francis Ngannou could pose more problems to Tyson Fury than Anthony Joshua

Tom Aspinall explains how Francis Ngannou can present a different type of threat for Tyson Fury.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] can present a different type of threat for [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag].

WBC boxing champ Fury takes on former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in a 10-round bout Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Aspinall will help Fury prep for Ngannou. He explains that although Ngannou is not a boxer, his unorthodox style of hoisting heavy leather could throw Fury off.

“Well, if you want an inside breakdown from sparring, see, someone like Tyson who’s been boxing all their life, or any boxer who’s been boxing most of their life, a lot of boxers fight very similar,” Aspinall said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “They go double jab, right hand. They go one-two, left hook, stuff like that. It’s not too dissimilar, especially you come through the amateur circuit and you go the Olympic route and all that kind of stuff. A lot of these guys have very, very similar styles.”

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Ngannou will seek help from boxing legend Mike Tyson. Aspinall gives Ngannou a puncher’s chance and went as far as saying “The Predator” could pose a bigger threat to Fury than [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag], who knocked out Robert Helenius in the seventh round this past Saturday in London.

“When you throw somebody in like a Deontay Wilder, like Francis Ngannou, who’s throwing looping shots and uppercuts and doing all kinds of unorthodox stuff, the boxers aren’t as used to it as they would like – for example, if Tyson Fury boxed Anthony Joshua, it would be the easiest fight ever for him,” Aspinall said. “Easiest fight ever, because he’s so basic.

“He’s going one-two, he’s going double jab, he’s going left hook, right hand. He’s going one-two left hook, basic combinations. Whereas if he’s fighting someone like Wilder, who’s just throwing a big, looping right hook randomly. It’s going to be much harder for a traditional boxer to fight someone more unorthodox. So, I can see Francis bringing a few more problems than somebody like an Anthony Joshua would to Tyson Fury.”

For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Fury vs. Ngannou.

Tom Aspinall: Michael Bisping ‘bigging me up,’ but I definitely am capable of beating Jon Jones

Tom Aspinall appreciates Michael Bisping’s high praise and thinks he’s ready to live up to vs. Jon Jones.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] appreciates [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag]’s high praise and thinks he’s ready to live up to it.

Bisping made the bold claim that Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) would run through UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) the same way he did Marcin Tybura when he finished him in Round 1 less than two weeks ago in the UFC Fight Night 224 headliner in London.

“Jon Jones is the heavyweight champion,” Bisping previously told Sky Sports. “He’s an incredible fighter. He’s incredible. He’s one of the greatest of all time. I don’t think he can hold a candle to Tom. I think Tom will do the same thing to Jon Jones as what he did to Marcin Tybura. I don’t think there’s anyone that can stop Tom Aspinall. He’s that good.”

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Considering former UFC light heavyweight champ and current heavyweight champ Jones has been unbeatable in the octagon (outside of a controversial disqualification), it’s quite the statement from the U.K.’s first ever UFC champion.

But Aspinall is confident he has the capability of beating Jones – whether it’s a quick finish or not.

“Well Bisping is bigging me up a bit there isn’t he, Bisping will have some hate from that I’m sure,” Aspinall said in an interview with Sky Sports. “I definitely am capable of doing that to Jon Jones. I’m capable of doing that to anybody but whether I will or not, I don’t know. Jon Jones is one of the greatest of all time.

“But I’m definitely confident that I can beat him. Whether I can beat him with that much ease, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens. I feel like I’m one of the most skilled heavyweights ever and I feel like I’m also two speeds above everyone else. I’m doing stuff that people can’t even see at heavyweight”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Michael Bisping says Jon Jones can’t ‘hold a candle’ to Tom Aspinall

This is quite the take from UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping when measuring up Tom Aspinall to Jon Jones.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] has made a bold claim about [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]’s future.

Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) returned from a serious knee injury to steamroll Marcin Tybura by first-round TKO this past Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 224 headliner at The O2 in London.

Aside from blowing out his knee in an 18-second TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes last year, Aspinall is unbeaten in the octagon, with five of his six UFC wins coming in the first round. Bisping, the U.K.’s first UFC champion, has the utmost confidence that Aspinall will wrap gold around his waist in the near future.

“Tom Aspinall was utterly fantastic,” Bisping told Sky Sports. “That’s one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from a heavyweight. Marcin Tybura, the guy that he beat, is no walk in the park.  He’s won seven of his last eight against world class opposition, and Tom just blew threw him like he was nothing.

“And I do 100 percent believe that he will be the champion. In fact, I know he will be the champion barring any freak injury or something terrible or bad luck happens. He will be the champion of the world.”

In order to reach that feat, Aspinall may have to attempt to do something no one has been able to do – beat UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC). Bisping went so far as to say that not only would Aspinall beat Jones, he’d make it look easy.

“Jon Jones is the heavyweight champion,” Bisping continued. “He’s an incredible fighter. He’s incredible. He’s one of the greatest of all time. I don’t think he can hold a candle to Tom. I think Tom will do the same thing to Jon Jones as what he did to Marcin Tybura. I don’t think there’s anyone that can stop Tom Aspinall. He’s that good.”

Aspinall appears to have gotten Jones’ attention after the heavyweight champ went on a tweet-and-delete rant about the rising Brit.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, July 25: Big wins in London, but any big moves?

UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall made a successful main event return from injury, but did it shake up the rankings?

The UFC’s return to The O2 in London saw a few big wins throughout the card.

From [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over Pannie Kianzad early on the prelims, to [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]’s main event first-round finish of Marcin Tybura, there were a number of key wins for fighters already in, or hovering around the top 15 of their divisions.

Vieira entered the week at No. 3 in the USA TODAY SPORTS/MMA Junkie women’s bantamweight rankings, while Kianzad was No. 9. Considering who is above and between both fighters, they maintain their positions in this week’s update.

A similar story played out in the heavyweight division. Aspinall entered at No. 8, and keeps the same spot despite a spectacular finish. Tybura keeps his place at No. 10 as well, but there are a few big fights at heavyweight on the horizon that could shake up the division.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

Jon Jones tweet-and-delete: ‘Everyone’s the next big thing until I beat them’

The storyline surrounding Tom Aspinall’s potential to beat that Jon Jones is one the UFC heavyweight champ has heard before.

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is no stranger to shutting down highly touted contenders.

Unbeaten in his UFC career, aside from a disqualification in a fight he was dominating, Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) beat generations of talent throughout his light heavyweight title reign. He returned from at three-year layoff in March to quickly submit Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 to capture the vacant heavyweight title.

Gane was pegged as a fighter that could pose a serious threat to Jones because of his speed and footwork as a heavyweight, but Jones was able to nullify that in minutes. With [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) running through Marcin Tybura in this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 headliner, many are wondering if Aspinall’s well rounded skillset could be the one to stop Jones.

But Jones, in a message he tweeted and later deleted, said pump the brakes – it’s a story he’s heard many times throughout his career

“Everyone’s the next big thing until I beat them,” Jones wrote. “And then it’s like, ‘Well, who was that guy anyway?’ Just a few months ago Gane was the absolute future of MMA. Best footwork, fastest heavyweight we have ever seen. The most athletic. Now everyone’s like, ‘Who the hell is that guy?'”

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Aspinall, 30, indicated before and after his win over Tybura that he hopes Jones, 36, continues his career beyond his next fight so that they might have the opportunity to meet inside the cage.

Jones is slated to make his first heavyweight title defense against former champ Stipe Miocic in the UFC 295 headliner on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden.

Update: Aspinall later responded to Jones on Twitter, short and sweet.

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