UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall believes there’s a slew of other heavyweights that are much more deserving of an interim title shot.
Aspinall is riding high off his UFC main event win over Alexander Volkov in London just weeks ago. He’s won eight in a row in his MMA career and is undefeated in his UFC tenure.
Aspinall’s first-round submission over Volkov began speculation regarding what could be next for the up-and-coming British star. Some of his UFC colleagues, including Darren Till, have predicted that Aspinall has what it takes to eventually hold the heavyweight belt.
The UFC may opt to book another interim heavyweight title fight after Francis Ngannou underwent knee surgery earlier this year. Top contenders such as Stipe Miocic, Tai Tuivasa, Aspinall, and former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones are a few names in the mix.
But Aspinall feels he shouldn’t be in the conversation for an interim title fight should the UFC opt to go in that direction.
During a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Aspinall explained why he feels he’s not ready for an interim title bout.
“I mean, to be honest with you, that’s not really something that I think about, an interim title,” Aspinall said. “I’m not interested in that really. I don’t like saying no, but I feel like there’s other people that deserve it more. Like Stipe, Jon Jones… there’s definitely other people that do deserve it more than me. I just broke into the Top 10, so I ain’t looking at doing any of that kind of stuff. Like Ciryl Gane, he was this close to beating Ngannou, so people like that guy deserve it more than me.”
One key element of the interim title conversation is Jones, who is expected to make his heavyweight debut later this year. He has alluded to interest in a fight with Miocic for his Octagon return after more than two years away from the sport.
Aspinall called out Tuivasa following his win over Volkov and the UFC may decide to book that next. Although, Aspinall doesn’t think it should be for an interim belt if the booking comes to fruition.
What do you think should be next for Tom Aspinall?