Despite initially calling for a title eliminator against the victor of a UFC Fight Night Paris headliner between Ciryl Gane and Sergei Spivak, recent UFC London winner, Tom Aspinall has not shied away from a bout with Russian knockout ace, Sergei Pavlovich, stressing how he “definitely” wants to clash with him.
Headlining UFC London just last weekend, Aspinall returned to the Octagon following a catastrophic knee injury the year prior, stopping Polish veteran, Marcin Tybura with a stunning first round TKO in the capital.
Easy work for Tom Aspinall! He TKOs Marcin Tybura in a little over 1 minute!
Tybura didn't land a single strike according to the broadcast
pic.twitter.com/DdVJdBjLXb
— FTB VIDS (@anotherFTBacct) July 22, 2023
In the immediate aftermath of the pairing, the Atherton native welcomed the possibility of a title eliminator against former interim champion, Gane, or former opponent, Spivak – with the European contenders slated to headline at the Accor Arena in France on September 2.
Drawing the attention of current undisputed heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, Aspinall stressed that he wanted to fight the Endicott native for gold following his return at UFC 295 in November at Madison Square Garden.
Tom Aspinall welcomes title eliminator with Sergei Pavlovich
However, as far as a suggested pairing with streaking knockout ace, Pavlovich, Aspinall maintained he definitely wanted to fight the Russian.
“I wouldn’t turn him (Sergei Pavlovich) down, definitely not,” Tom Aspinall told the Daily Star. “I definitely want to fight him. I probably – I don’t know (why I didn’t call him out) I think he just wasn’t fresh in my mind. I think it’s because everyone was talking about UFC Paris all week and what a good event it would be.”
“I think I forgot about Pavlovich, to be honest,” Tom Aspinall explained. “But if he’s the number one contender, then I want to fight him. I’m not really fussed with the direction which UFC go – I’m ready for anyone.”
The current number one ranked heavyweight contender, has enjoyed a stunning six-fight winning run since a knockout loss to Alistair Overeem in his Octagon debut racking up wins over the likes of Curtis Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, and Shamil Abdurakhimov to name a few.