Forcing Aspinall To Wait Is Stupid

“Aspinall’s got plenty of money to chill out for a minute.” —Dana White

Tom Aspinall is that dude.

The newly-crowned interim heavyweight champion captured the substitute strap by melting No. 2-ranked division contender Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC 295 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event last Sat. night (Nov. 12, 2023) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Watch the video highlights here.

The bout was cobbled together on just a few weeks’ notice after reigning heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, went down with a serious pectoral injury, which not only sent “Bones” into surgery, but also put him on the shelf for the next eight months (or more).

And delayed his Stipe Miocic legacy fight.

“It’s been a crazy two-and-a-half weeks,” Aspinall said during his post-fight interview. “I just want to say to everyone at home: If you ever get a chance to do something, and you’re scared to do it, you should definitely f*cking do it, because there’s a chance it could pay off.”

The victory over Pavlovich moved Aspinall to 7-1 inside the Octagon with all seven wins coming by way of knockout or submission — six within the opening frame. The hulking Brit, still just 30 years old, is proving to be one of the most exciting heavyweights in years.

That’s why it’s monumentally stupid to keep him sidelined for an entire year.

“If you’re Sergei and Aspinall, you’re getting the opportunity to fight for the interim title anyway, now,” UFC CEO Dana White said before the fight. “So, yeah, [the winner is] gonna have to wait until [Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic] happens. This fight was set up, this fight needs to happen. Two of the biggest legends in the sport who want the fight. The fans want the fight.”

If Jones has a perfect recovery with no setbacks, there’s a good chance we’ll see “Bones” back inside the cage for the promotion’s International Fight Week PPV card in July. The winner would need a few months to recover and begin a new training camp for Aspinall, which means November in New York or December in Las Vegas.

Then again, Jones or Miocic (or both) may retire after they (finally) fight.

Aspinall is red hot and fighting in his prime. In addition, there was no justifiable reason to create an interim title if the promotion had no plans to make Aspinall defend it. I guess they just wanted a shiny gold prop to help market the UFC 295 PPV event.

Miocic, 41, has been out of action for more than two years and probably won’t come back unless he can fight Jones. I certainly wouldn’t mind watching Aspinall fight No. 1-ranked Ciryl Gane, but if he’s going to be sidelined, perhaps “Bon Gamin” can battle Pavlovich or maybe even rising star Jailton Almeida.

Don’t expect any decisions on those contests until 2024.

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