New Interim Champ Tom Aspinall Lobbies for ‘Dream Fight’ vs. Jon Jones in the U.K.

Tom Aspinall didn’t leave much for Jon Jones to dissect at UFC 295.

The Englishman claimed interim gold in emphatic fashion, as he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich 69 seconds into Round 1 of their co-main event bout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Jones took to social media to praise Aspinall following the victory. ‘

“Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!” Jones wrote.

Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!

— BONY (@JonnyBones) November 12, 2023

It’s not the first time Jones, the regining heavyweight king ,has praised Aspinall, and the the Team Kaobon product appreciates the accolades. But he’d like one more thing from the man known as “Bones.”

“I’ve seen Jon talking nice stuff about me on a podcast, as well. It’s really nice,” Aspinall said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Obviously it’s always nice to hear nice things about you, but from someone like that, who I massively look up to, even more so.

“Yeah, thank you, Jon. Just give me the opportunity, Jon. Let me do it. Give me my dream fight. Why not? I’ve just achieved my dream now. Give me my dream fight. Let me fight for my legacy now please.”

Jones was scheduled to face Stipe Moicic in the original UFC 295 headliner before an injury suffered in training forced him to pull out of the event. In most cases, winning an interim belt guarantees a title unification bout down the road. However, the promotion still seems intent on booking Jones vs. Miocic sometime in 2024. Aspinall doesn’t want to be sidelined for an extensive period of time, but if that’s what it takes to get his dream matchup, he is willing to wait.

“No, I don’t want to wait a year. I definitely don’t want to wait a year,” Aspinall said. “I think that me and Jones is the fight to make, to be honest. If I have to wait a year, I will. That’s the fight I really, really want. And I think that me and Jon inthe U.K., that’s just a dream for everybody. The UFC, fans, everybody will love that.”

Whether that’s in Manchester, London or elsewhere, Aspinall is confident that the fight would generate plenty of interest.

“It doesn’t have to be Manchester, but I think that if we do the greatest fighter of all time versus the U.K. heavyweight champion of the UFC in the U.K., that would be absolutely insane. Let’s do it, absolutely,” Aspinall said.

There has been speculation that Jones will retire from the sport after facing Miocic, but Aspinall hopes that his performance might have convinced “Bones” to postpone his exit for at least one more fight. If they do meet in the Octagon, Aspinall likes his chances.

“I don’t think I did much wrong for him to be like, ‘That’s an easy fight.’ I think if I hit anybody square in the face they’re going to go to sleep, simple as that,” Aspinall said. “Jon knows that, and that’s no disrespect to Jon, I absolutely love Jon, he’s one of my favorite fighters of all time, I absolutely look up to him. But I want to fight him, and I think I can win.”