If anything happens to a proposed November fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, Aspinall is the man that will step in.
Jon Jones may not be very interested in fighting Tom Aspinall, but he may have to if anything happens to Stipe Miocic leading into their expected November heavyweight title fight.
Aspinall is the interim heavyweight champion and just defended against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. After knocking Blaydes out in a minute flat (watch the highlights here), UFC CEO Dana White dubbed him the clear choice to play backup for Jones vs. Miocic.
“One hundred percent, we’d be insane not to make him the backup for that fight,” White said at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference.”
“Listen, Jon Jones is no dummy,” he said. “Jon Jones has a very high fight IQ, so he knows what Aspinall has got and what he’s about, five first round finishes in a row, insane knockout power and arguably the best finishing ability in the entire sport.”
And if Jones vs. Miocic goes ahead as planned?
“I think we’re going to have to see what happens with this fight with Stipe and see where Jon’s head is,” White said. “Or if Stipe wins, we see where his head is and let’s see what they want to do.”
Barring the UFC 304 backup slot paying off, Aspinall will have to wait until 2025 for his chance to claim the undisputed title. In the meantime … Alex Pereira?