Tom Aspinall Confident Despite ‘Worst Circumstances Possible’ for UFC 295 Title Fight

Fighting on less than three weeks’ notice at UFC 295, Tom Aspinall is confident of getting his hands raised against Sergei Pavlovich, whom he believes is “the scariest guy in MMA.”

Pavlovich (18-1) was supposed to be the backup fighter for the originally scheduled UFC 295 main event between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. However, Aspinall (13-3) chose to step up on short notice when the Ultimate Fighting Championship put together an interim title fight with Pavlovich after Jones was forced out due to an injury.

Aspinall admits “two weeks” aren’t enough to prepare for a fight and believes he is fighting Pavlovich under the worst possible circumstances. However, the Brit is a slight favorite as of publication time on many sportsbooks and has absolute confidence in his ability to find a way to win despite the deck being stacked against him.

“I’m fighting the scariest guy in MMA in my opinion, in the worst circumstances possible without a training camp,” the 30-year-old said during the UFC 295 media day. “I obviously think I can win. I’m not the kind of guy who shows up for money. I ain’t signing a contract and showing up if I don’t think I can win. I truly, truly believe that I’m going to win on Saturday night. I’m an absolute winner, and I’m going to find a way to win regardless of the circumstances.”

Aspinall has finished all six of his UFC victories so far with his only loss being a freak knee injury against Curtis Blaydes in 2022. Meanwhile, Pavlovich is coming off six straight first-round stoppage wins after suffering his lone pro loss in his UFC debut against Alistair Overeem in 2018.

Many fans and pundits believe the two surging prospects are the rightful contenders for the UFC heavyweight title, which they believe Jones should vacate. However, UFC CEO Dana White has clearly stated that the interim champ has to wait for the winner of Jones’ title defense against Miocic after the champ returns.

Nevertheless, for now, Aspinall isn’t too concerned with the title being an interim one. The Brit remains hopeful of a clash against “Bones” at some point.

“I’m fine with the interim. I’m not too bothered. It’ll work itself out, I’m sure. Jones is obviously one of the best to ever do it. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and hopefully, we’ll get to share the cage one day.”