MMA fighter Tom Aspinall, fully recovered from a knee injury, is set to headline the UFC’s return to London and hopes to impress Jon Jones with his performance, aiming for a dream fight against the heavyweight champion.
Tom Aspinall, the MMA fighter, has demonstrated his appreciation for the slow and continuous development of his career, choosing to patiently evolve rather than rush towards an early title shot. This approach seemed particularly vindicated when the UFC heavyweight championship was seized by Jon Jones, once a UFC light heavyweight titleholder and broadly acknowledged as one of the sport’s greatest competitors. Notably, Jones delayed moving up in weight for a considerable span, of 13 years. At present, Aspinall is entering a new career phase; he is ready and eager to test his capabilities against strong competitors like Jones.
Being fully recovered from his knee injury suffered in July 2022, Aspinall is now 30 years old and is ready to headline the return of the UFC in London, facing Marcin Tybura on this Saturday. He does not feel any hesitation now and boldly admits his readiness to challenge the best fighters in the heavyweight category. “Yes,” Aspinall confidently acknowledged during the UFC London media day. According to him, his ambition is not just to experience victory at UFC London but also to attract Jon Jones’ attention to his performance.
Aspinall aims to make an impression on Jones over several fights and earn Jones’ respect and recognition. While Aspinall believes that Jones might not yet know who he is, he’s determined to make his presence count. Aspinall wishes that Jones will watch him fight and be intrigued enough to stick around for his performance. He also expresses hope that Jones will feel that Aspinall would serve as a worthy competitor, and hence be eager to take on this new challenge.
Since his UFC debut, Aspinall, the English powerhouse, maintained an unbroken run of victories until a knee injury during a match against Curtis Blaydes forced a break from his career. Despite this setback, Aspinall remains a potential standout in the heavyweight division, and he anticipates that the quality of performance in his UFC return will be instrumental in facilitating a face-off with Jones. He believes that the manner in which Saturday’s fight progresses and how he achieves victory will play a decisive role in determining his future trajectory. At this career phase, Aspinall feels confident he matches up well with Jones. However, the primary uncertainty is whether Jones will still be competing by the time Aspinall reaches the title contention stage.
Jones is scheduled to fight former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on November 11 in his debut title defense. While Jones has indicated that this could be his last fight, Aspinall is keen to motivate Jones to reconsider. Aspinall is hopeful that a compelling display against Tybrua may spur Jones to stick around a bit longer. Aspinall also believes Jones to have an advantage over Miocic due to his recent robust performance. He finds it challenging to predict the potential winner between Stipe, who has a lot of experience but has been inactive for the previous two, to three years, and Jones, about whose current form Aspinall is reasonably confident. Tom sees Jon Jones as the definite favorite given the current circumstances in the heavyweight MMA landscape.