Aspinall: Miocic Declined UFC 300 Title Tilt

Would it really be UFC 300 without a big-time Heavyweight fight? Apparently so.

UFC 100 and UFC 200 had one (next big) thing in common in their respective years of 2010 and 2016: Brock Lesnar. At the former, Lesnar headlined the historic event and successfully defended his Heavyweight title in a rematch with Frank Mir by second round technical knockout. Over half a decade later the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star returned to action for a one-off bout opposite Mark Hunt, which provided spectacle to an also historic UFC 200 event.

UFC 300 is, unsurprisingly, expected to miss out on Lesnar on April 13, 2024. However, that hasn’t stopped the promotion from trying to get a big Heavyweight title fight on the mega-event, according to the current undisputed champion, Jon Jones, and now the interim titlist, Tom Aspinall.

“Believe it or not I respect @JonnyBones and everything he has done,” Aspinall tweeted. “So impressive. I wish him all the best in his recovery and return against @stipemiocic (Stipe Miocic).

“While we are talking about @stipemiocic, my manager was contacted by the UFC asking if I’d like to fight him on apr 13th,” he continued. “I, of course, accepted.

“A little later, we were told that @stipemiocic doesn’t want to fight me, and only interested in fighting @JonnyBones,” Aspinall concluded.

The Heavyweight title scene got a lot messier than it should have ahead of UFC 295 in November 2023. Jones’ torn pectoral muscle injury led the promotion to create an interim crown, which Aspinall captured via a 69-second knockout over Sergei Pavlovich as the event’s replacement (watch highlights).

Instead of also removing Miocic (temporarily) from the UFC 295 equation with Jones’ injury, fans pondered why he didn’t just face one of the other top contenders. Well, UFC CEO, Dana White, thought that would have been a disrespect to the former two-time champion and will now rebook Jones vs. Miocic as soon as possible. Therefore, Aspinall is left to defend the interim strap against whomever makes sense.

“On that note. I will stop crying, accept it ain’t gonna happen, and enjoy the fight that me and all the other fans want to see,” Aspinall said. “Legend vs. legend for the Heavyweight title. Maximum respect guys. Yay.”