Tom Aspinall Calls Out UFC Heavyweight Contenders for Manchester Fight
Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is considering other options in light of his failed campaign for an undisputed title shot.
The British champion rallied behind his interim belt in a slew of Tweets in January, attempting to rile Jon Jones into considering him over Stipe Miocic.
It didn't seem to work out, however, and Aspinall isn't content with waiting for his shot.
"So [Curtis] Blaydes has got a fight coming up, against [Jailton] Almeida," Aspinall told TNT Sports. "I technically have a loss to Blaydes. ....I would like to get that one back."
Aspinall fought Blaydes once before, injuring his knee in the opening seconds and losing by TKO. It remains his only loss in the UFC. Still, Aspinall isn't overlooking Blaydes' opponent, Almeida:
"If Blaydes takes care of business - which he should - me and him in Manchester would be the best thing. I guess if Almeida wins, I guess that makes sense as well."
"I'm not gonna wait forever," Aspinall remarked. The Manchester native has several options for a next opponent: the aforementioned winner of Blaydes vs. Almeida, and a potential showdown with Ciryl Gane.
Gane vs. Aspinall would be a strong headliner for a UFC Paris card, cashing in on the historic rivalry between the French and the British. However, for this to happen, Aspinall would need to backtrack on his past remarks.
After winning at UFC 295, Aspinall lambasted Gane for wanting to "leapfrog" the division for a shot at his interim title:
"Ciryl Gane’s waiting – I’m not fighting him," Aspinall explained on Believe You Me." .... I called him out after my fight [with Marcin Tybura] — turned it down, doesn’t want to fight me.
"I then showed up in his hometown in Paris, openly said on the microphone that he doesn’t want to fight me. Then when I went on the Ariel Helwani show and said he doesn’t want to fight me. Now I’ve got the title, he wants to leapfrog everybody else and fight me. No mate you can wait!"
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