Tag: Tom Aspinall

Video: Jon Jones calls for UFC heavyweight title fight vs. Alex Pereira. Fair or foul?

Jon Jones called for a fight against Alex Pereira. Is this a good idea? We discuss on the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique.”

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacts to [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ recent, out-of-field comments saying that he’s interested in fighting UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] at heavyweight.

Jones, who holds the UFC heavyweight title, said a fight against Pereira would be much bigger and more relevant should he defend his title in return from injury against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] sometime later this year. These comments made headlines, given there’s an interim champion in the division in [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] awaiting his shot at the champion.

Is this a fair call from Jones? Is a Jones-Pereira title fight even likely?

MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura, Mike Bohn, and host “Gorgeous” George Garcia discuss the surprising, but interesting comments from Jones.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and also don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/live/vARR1szSFH4

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Tom Aspinall unamused by Jon Jones ‘playing games again’ with interest in Alex Pereira

Tom Aspinall is brushing off UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones publicly showing interest in a potential fight with Alex Pereira.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is brushing off UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ public interest in a potential fight with [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) called a fight against light heavyweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) the biggest in MMA history and went on to argue why Pereira is a much more lucrative fight than interim heavyweight champ Aspinall. Jones’ return fight will come against Stipe Miocic, not a title-unifier vs. Aspinall.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) doesn’t see a need to address Jones unless he’s going to fight him, which he thinks is highly unlikely at this point.

“If we can get old mate Jon to ever sign a contract with my name on the other side of the contract, I’ll talk about him for hours on this show – hours,” Aspinall told TNT Sports. “But right now the guy is playing games again, trying to convince the public what he wants and what he doesn’t want.

“Which he does really, really well. As I said, we can chat about Jon if and when he ever signs a contract with my name on the other side of it because right now, let’s be honest, it’s not looking very likely.”

Aspinall is expected to defend his interim title at UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester, but he doesn’t know against whom yet.

“The last I knew, it was going to get announced this weekend (at UFC 301), and obviously that’s been and gone now,” Aspinall said. “I don’t know. Right now I have no idea what’s going on. I wish I could come on the show, I wish I could announce on social media, I wish I could start dragging traffic that way, but right now I have no idea. I’m just getting myself prepared for that date. As far as opponents and stuff like that, I don’t know what’s going on right now.”

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Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Jose Aldo’s future, Jon Jones calls for Alex Pereira, latest in boxing, more

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel UFC 301 fallout for Jose Aldo, Jon Jones’ Alex Pereira callout, the latest boxing news and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura and Mike Bohn – along with guest Michael Rosenthal from Boxing Junkie – will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] has still got it. The former UFC and WEC champion was successful in his return from retirement, defeating top contender Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event of UFC 301. This was Aldo’s first MMA fight since 2022, but more importantly the last bout on his UFC contract. So what’s next for the Brazilian legend? Aldo kept his options open, expressing interest in both re-signing with the UFC or going back to boxing.
  • In the main event of UFC 301, [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] defended his flyweight title against [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]. It was a big win for Pantoja, who’s the only person to log in two title defense wins since Demetrious Johnson’s departure in 2018. We discuss Pantoja’s legacy, along with the state of the UFC’s 125-pound division.
  • It’s been a busy year for the world of boxing. Canelo Alvarez defended his title against Jaima Mungia in a massive event this past Saturday. Ryan Garcia’s bizarre career continues after he allegedly failed an anti-doping test stemming from his big win over Devin Haney. We catch up on those topics and more with Boxing Junkie’s Michael Rosenthal.
  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is back in the news and this time with a out-of-left-field, but interesting suggestion. The UFC heavyweight champion made his interest known for a potential heavyweight fight against current light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] – if Jones beats Stipe Miocic in his return. How big could this fight be? Is it even a real possibility? How should [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] take these comments? We break it all down.

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Tom Aspinall says UFC 304 start time ‘just not fair’ for U.K. fans

Tom Aspinall feels for the U.K. fans that will have to pull an all-nighter to watch UFC 304.

UFC interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] feels for the U.K. fans who will have to pull an all-nighter to attend UFC 304.

The pay-per-view event will take place July 27 in the newly built Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England. The prelims will start at 6 p.m. ET (11 p.m. BST) and the main card at 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. BST) on ESPN+ pay-per-view, following the traditional start times for U.S. pay-per-views.

While Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) doesn’t mind fighting in the middle of the night, he can see how it’ll be less than ideal for the fans in attendance.

“As an athlete, as a fighter, in all honesty it doesn’t make that much difference,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “Probably for a couple of weeks before I’ll have to wake up and train at that time or stay up or whatever. I’ve flown across the world multiple times and fought in different time zones. So, it’s not as bad as that. As a fan who wants to watch it live, I think it is absolutely terrible. It’s just not fair on the fans, not fair on the U.K. fans.

“Predominantly it’s an American audience, so I understand that they want to sell to them. But why can’t they sell to them in the afternoon, which is our evening time? Why can’t the Americans watch it in the afternoon and the U.K. fans, the Manchester fans, the European fans can all fly to the event and sell out this new arena. I mean, it’s going to sell out regardless. We’re very, very, very lucky to have a pay-per-view in Manchester. Very lucky, but U.K. MMA, let’s put it on U.K. time.”

Aspinall is expected to compete on the card but is yet to have a fight officially booked. He expressed interest in running things back with Curtis Blaydes, who handed him the lone loss of his career. Aspinall injured his knee 18 seconds into his July 2022 headliner vs. Blaydes in London.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Why Chael Sonnen thinks Tom Aspinall potentially facing Ciryl Gane at UFC 304 is a big risk

Chael Sonnen doesn’t want to see Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane next.

[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] doesn’t want to see [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] next.

Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) confirmed that he’ll be fighting at UFC 304, which will take place July 27 in the newly built Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.

Aspinall dismissed Gane as a potential opponent after Gane refused to acknowledge his presence this past September in Paris. Aspinall watched Gane finish Serghei Spivac, but didn’t get his desired face-off. Gane hasn’t competed since, but Aspinall wound up facing Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title at UFC 295, and knocked him out to claim the belt. Now Aspinall is making Gane wait his turn.

Cormier likes Aspinall vs. Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) next, but Sonnen sees a big problem with that fight.

“I believe that the problem is if you do bring Ciryl back, if he wins, you put a belt around Ciryl,” Sonnen said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Daniel Cormier. “If Jon Jones is agreeable, you’re going to do a rematch between Jon Jones and Ciryl.

“I think that’s too tough after the performance that Ciryl gave (at UFC 285), or did not give. I just don’t think there’s any scenario where they re-do that match, and you would run into a big risk if you put the belt around him.”

Aspinall wants to run things back with Blaydes. Blaydes handed Aspinall his only octagon loss when Aspinall blew out his knee just 18 seconds into their fight in July 2022. Blaydes is coming off an impressive knockout of Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 – snapping the Brazilian contender’s 15-fight winning streak.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Ciryl Gane denies Tom Aspinall’s claims of ducking UFC fight: ‘I’ll see you in September, stop tripping’

Ciryl Gane “never, ever” says no to a challenge, prompting him to clap back at UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall’s claim.

[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] has clapped back at UFC interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]’s ducking accusations.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) claimed that he only got to fight Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 because Gane turned the Russian down. Aspinall also accused Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) of turning down fights with him and Curtis Blaydes, which Blaydes discussed after his knockout of Jailton Almeida at UFC 299.

“He’s dismissed me on multiple occasions, and I’m not the first guy he’s dismissed,” Aspinall said on “The MMA Hour.” “I’m not the first guy that he’s ducked. It’s out there for people to see. The reason that I got the Pavlovich fight is because Ciryl didn’t want it.

“He ducked Pavlovich. He then ducked Curtis Blaydes. Curtis Blaydes has been on record saying that. I asked for him years ago. He didn’t want it then. Then I asked for him in Paris. They flew me over; we tried to make that fight. He didn’t want it then, and we’ll see what the UFC wants to do.”

Gane responded to Aspinall on X by denying those claims and offered to fight him at the UFC’s expected Paris event in September.

“.@AspinallMMA, I never, ever say no to any challenge or any opponent. Blaydes was never an option. They said Pavlovich, I said yes. Don’t worry, I’ll see you in September, stop tripping 📍@Mickmaynard2 @danawhite.”

Gane rebounded from his title-fight loss to Jon Jones with a second-round TKO of Serghei Spivac last September. Meanwhile, Aspinall campaigned hard for a title-unification bout with heavyweight champion Jones but is willing to defend his interim title first. Jones is expected to make his first title defense against Stipe Miocic upon return from injury.

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Ante Delija recounts training with ‘very technical’ UFC champ Tom Aspinall before 2024 PFL 1

Ante Delija turned to the UFC interim heavyweight champion for some training sessions before the PFL regular season got underway.

[autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] recently spent time training with UFC interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Delija (24-5) takes on Valentin Moldavsky (12-3-1) in Thursday’s 2024 PFL 1 (ESPN2, ESPN+) main event, which takes place at Boeing Center in San Antonio.

The 2022 PFL heavyweight champion was in the U.K. a couple of months ago to get some work in with Aspinall and had nothing but praise for him.

“I trained with Tom Aspinall before my training camp,” Delija said through an interpreter during the 2024 PFL 1 media day. “I was impressed with his physical strength, and also he’s very, very technical. His father has been training him since he was a kid, so he deserves the place where he’s in right now.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3kmuuHNP17/?igsh=MThkc29pN2NnZDM2Mg%3D%3D&fbclid=IwAR1XMnFh35VrIRA2YMheE6rMt3yzGkC_8gXDkwhx0yXtMapbku2Kkyv1Ao4_aem_AZRyOsw0vAxCRbklufbj7OlD_Op3pf2KmTR5siqMgALSwjCgH_F-hFfR7xJ-N9BHwLFm0OzP9iA4YZYoiT9dK1H5

With PFL acquiring Bellator, Delija has plenty of new options for opponents – especially after competing in two rematches already with the PFL.

“Of course I’m looking forward to new faces,” Delija said. “I’m in my prime, and I want to fight as many best competitions as I can get in my way.”

You can watch the full media day with Delija in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 1.

Tom Aspinall on Jon Jones: ‘Absolutely I fear him, but that fuels me’

Tom Aspinall is comfortable admitting that he fears the great Jon Jones because he’s certain that’s not a bad thing.

When UFC heavyweight champions [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and[autotag] Tom Aspinall[/autotag] crossed paths earlier this month, chances are one of them was scared in the moment.

It was probably Aspinall.

Aspinall, owner of an interim UFC heavyweight title belt, has made no bones about his desire to face Jones in a title unifier ever since he put the champ’s reign in dispute by claiming gold with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich last November at UFC 295. And now, just a couple of weeks after his brief encounter with Jones at a sporting convention in Birmingham, England, Aspinall has no qualms admitting that he fears the man many consider the greatest UFC fighter of all time – but’s certain that’s not a bad thing.

“Do I fear him? Absolutely,” Aspinall said of Jones on his YouTube channel. “I fear all of my opponents. Like, these guys are the best in the world, the absolute best in the world. Absolutely I fear him, but that fuels me. I want to prove that I’m the best in the world.”

Unfortunately, that possibility continues to look grim as Jones remains intent on fighting former champ Stipe Miocic upon his return from a pectoral injury that scrapped the original UFC 295 main event.

“I’m obviously confident that I could beat Jon Jones because I want to fight him,” Aspinall said. “I’m not making it a secret that I want to fight him, but I’ve done everything that I can until this point. … I want to fight Jon Jones, but he doesn’t, so there’s not a lot I can do about that.”

As far as what’s next for Aspinall, UFC CEO Dana White recently told TNT Sports that a pay-per-view is in the works for England, with Manchester expected to host it in late July. That figures to be when Aspinall, who said he’s “in talks” with the UFC, makes his return to the cage, although it’s unclear against whom or if he would defend his interim title.

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Video: Should the Jon Jones-Tom Aspinall encounter change the UFC’s plans?

Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall had the internet buzzing after one little face off. Should the UFC listen?

Well, would you look at that: UFC heavyweight champions (plural) [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] came together at a sports convention last weekend, which had the internet buzzing.

Aspinall, of course, has been campaigning for the two of them to unify the titles and even got a reaction from Jones when he gently placed his hand on his shoulder during their encounter. Jones, meanwhile, has remained steadfast on his first title defense being against former champ Stipe Miocic, a matchup that fell apart last November when Jones suffered an injury.

Given that it’s been several months since then and now seeing Jones and Aspinall face off, what are your feelings about this whole situation now? Should the UFC stick to its guns and and go with Jones vs. Miocic or pivot to Jones vs. Aspinall? Our “Spinning Back Clique” of Mike Bohn, Matthew Wells and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered that with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube or in podcast form.

 

Spinning Back Clique LIVE: Diaz-Masvidal boxing rematch, UFC 301’s main event, Jose Aldo’s return, Islam Makhachev speaks

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal 2, UFC 301’s headliner, the return of Jose Aldo, and much more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Mike Bohn, Matthew Wells and Brian “Goze” Garcia will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia, live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] and [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] will run it back in June, but this time, the rivals will meet inside a boxing ring rather than an MMA cage. The former UFC mainstays will compete independently of the organization where they made their names and, in fact, will fight on the same night as UFC 302. The name power is there for this rematch between two of the more popular MMA fighters in recent memory, but should it have been in a cage like the first meeting?
  • [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] has his next flyweight title challenger: [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]. UFC 301 has its headliner, and it’s a flyweight title fight that nobody saw coming. Pantoja gets the opportunity to defend his title on home soil, but the challenger in UFC-ranked No. 10 Erceg caught many, including several peers in his division, by surprise. Is this a case of perfect timing for Erceg, or there a larger message being sent to the division?
  • After walking away from the UFC after his 20th fight, to an instant Hall of Fame induction while dabbling in professional boxing, former featherweight king [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] is back. At UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Aldo will return to action against Jonathan Martinez, adding some much-needed weight to a light pay-per-view event. More importantly, what should be expected of the 37-year-old Aldo in return to the UFC?
  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] crossed paths at a sports convention this past weekend. The viral moment saw the two heavyweights exchange respectful words in a face-to-face encounter. Aspinall, the heavyweight interim title holder, placed his hand on Jones’ shoulder, which prompted the UFC champ to immediately remove it before continuing with the brief interaction. You could feel the respect, and also the tension. Should the UFC change course here from Jones’ expected fight against Stipe Miocic and unify the UFC title next?
  • [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] spoke to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, hitting on several interesting topics. Among them were the reasons for wanting Dustin Poirier to be his next title challenger, his thoughts on the BMF title fight between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway, and why he could not take on Leon Edwards in a champ vs. champ fight at UFC 300. What struck you the most about this interview with the UFC lightweight champion?