Tom Aspinall Addresses Lack of Starpower in UFC’s Heavyweight Division

With the Jon Jones saga in the rearview mirror (at least for now), Tom Aspinall is free to focus getting the heavyweight division moving.

In a recent interview with Adam Catterall on "One on One," the Englishman revealed there has been significant progress in that direction.

“I now have a fight, which will get announced, unfortunately that’s not my job,” Aspinall said. “But at least we’ve got a date, we’ve got an opponent to work towards. Everything’s good. Very happy with that. I can finally get my career going again.”

Unfortunately for Aspinall, Jones was by far the highest-profile fight he could have taken. The 32-year-old Team Kaobon representative acknowledges that the weight class doesn’t currently match the starpower of the previous era, but he is confident that can change with time.

“The heavyweight division’s not exactly on fire at the moment from a name point of view. I think the talent’s there,” Aspinall said. “But if you look five plus years ago, just the name value in the Top 15 was incredible. We’re talking guys like Fabricio Werdum, Cain Velasquez, [Junior Dos Santos], Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar, etc, etc. Stipe [Miocic], the list goes on and on. You look through the Top 15 and it’s like wow, that’s incredible. Where as now, even me who’s a heavyweight, I look through the Top 15 and I’m like I’ve not really seen [these guys] fight before.

“I think over the next few years that’s going to change. I think there’s going to be more big fights at heavyweight. People are going to become bigger names, which is great. We just need more up and coming heavyweights doing a bit in the Top 15.”

Aspinall Wants to Fight Four Times Within 12 Months

If everything works out the way he wants it, Aspinall plans on having an active first year as champion.

“I’d like to do four [fights],” he said. “I don’t know how realistic that is because the heavyweight’s are a little bit different. First of all, there’s not as many of us. Especially if you look at the Top 10 now, I’ve beaten six of them. My goal is to beat 10 of the Top 10. I want to beat all 10. Second of all, injuries happen a lot more with bigger guys so we’re not as active as they are at the smaller weights. My goal is at least three, maybe four between now and the end of ’26.”