Since stepping into the octagon and competing under the UFC banner for the first time back in 2020, Tom Aspinall has solidified himself as one of the best heavyweights on the planet.
The Brit has looked almost flawless since then, though he has been criticized for having glaring flaws in his game, which the star astonishingly agrees with.
While sitting down with popular British YouTuber True Geordie, the UK fan-favorite revealed that he likely won’t fight Jon Jones, despite it being his dream opponent. Aspinall expects the heavyweight king to defend his throne against Stipe Miocic before bowing out of the sport.
“There can’t be two heavyweight champions. There can’t be. This isn’t boxing.” Aspinall said amid the uncertainty in his weight class. “There’s one guy, there’s one face, one name, and let’s find out who that is.”
“I’d be surprised if we got to fight. I would love it… I think he’s smart. I think he’s smart. And if the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn’t fight me either. And that’s not me bigging myself up, it’s just like why would you not fight a guy that’s 42, 43, [who has] a million miles on the clock and then back door it as opposed to fighting this guy who’s just steamrolling everybody.”
“I think it’s smart. I don’t think he’s scared. It’s Jon Jones, mate. He’s not scared of anybody but I think he’s just really smart… I want my shot, simple as that. I think I’m the f***ing number one heavyweight in the world right now. I truly, truly believe it. Let me prove it, that’s all I’m asking.”
Related: Tom Aspinall wants to unify titles against Jon Jones to prevent UFC becoming like boxing
The heavyweight has come under scrutiny in recent times as fans believe he is susceptible to being knocked out. He addressed the comments, admitting that he is working hard to eradicate the mistakes in his game.
“I agree, my chin is in the air. That’s something I’m working on. I have bad habits, same as anybody else. I’m training every day to make them better… I think you can learn from anybody. And I can see my bad habits just as much as anybody else. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘I am the ultimate complete finished product right now.'”
“I feel like I’m going to, even when I’m retired from fighting, I’m still going to be trying to improve my martial arts skills forever. I’m a lifelong martial artist, this thing never ends. I’m never going to be the complete fighter, I’m never going to be the complete martial artist.”
“To those people that say yeah my chins in the air, yeah I shouldn’t have took this shot, that shot, I do this wrong, that wrong. Mate, I can see it more than anybody else. I’m my own biggest critic, you don’t have to tell me the bad habits I’m making. I love the sport of MMA, I love martial arts. I study martial arts. I study myself more than I study anybody else and I know what I need to work on and I’m working on it every day.”
Check out the entire Tom Aspinall appearance on the True Geordie Podcast in the video below.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/tom-aspinall-believes-smart-jon-jones-will-avoid-him-and-retire-before-unifying-ufc-heavyweight-titles
