Tom Aspinall is looking forward and focusing on the future as the latter half of 2025 approaches.
MMA`s premier heavyweight still awaits his initial fight booking for the year, but it appears that plans are underway for Aspinall to secure an opponent soon. Whether he is slated to face UFC champion Jon Jones or another contender in the division, Aspinall is eager to compete again, seemingly with the backing of UFC CEO Dana White.
Following UFC 316 held last Saturday, White was questioned regarding the ongoing situation between Jones and Aspinall. While admitting he hadn`t closely followed all the recent developments, he unequivocally stated that Aspinall is “the guy” and confirmed his desire to see a heavyweight championship unification bout materialize.
Aspinall expressed satisfaction upon hearing that the organization`s head supports him.
“I think a lot of people come out and they see what I’ve said and they think it’s some kind of media stuff,” Aspinall commented on his YouTube channel. “Listen, I don’t do that kind of stuff. If I’m going to come out and say something, it’s going to be informed information.”
He continued, “As I’ve said a couple of times, not for me to say. That’s beyond my pay grade, I don’t announce no fights, I don’t announce no UFC news or nothing like that. But there is some coming, there’s definitely some coming. Dana White says I’m his man, we love that. And I’m going to go and prove that pretty soon, so it’s coming.”
Meanwhile, Jones recently engaged in an extensive series of tweets where he persisted in dismissing Aspinall, the interim UFC heavyweight titleholder, as a worthy challenger. He later addressed rumors that former UFC champion Francis Ngannou might consider returning to the promotion under favorable conditions. Jones characterized a potential fight with Ngannou as “a real superfight” and “a clash of champions, not just hype.”
Although White seemed to rule out Ngannou`s return, this did not deter Aspinall from considering how he might fare against the PFL star, who exited the UFC while still in possession of its title.
“I’ve said plenty times the day that I start ducking out of fights and turning opponents down… is the day that I’m going to retire,” Aspinall stated. “As I’ve always said, and you can ask any promoter that I’ve ever worked with, any guys at the UFC, I’ll fight anyone, I’ll fight anytime, and I’ll fight anywhere. Never turned down a fight in my life. Never will.”
He concluded by affirming his stance: “The day that I start thinking about turning down fights is the day that I’ll retire, so to answer the question, whoever they want me to fight is who I’m going to fight.”
