UFC News & FeaturesTom Aspinall Releases Statement on Promotion to UFC Heavyweight Champion
Tom
Aspinall kept it short and sweet — perhaps because the real
work is yet to come.
After UFC CEO Dana White announced that Jon Jones was retiring at the UFC Baku post-fight press conference, Aspinall reacted to the news — as well as being elevated to undisputed heavyweight champ — in a brief statement on Instagram.
“For you fans. It’s time to get this heavyweight division going,”
Aspinall wrote. “An active undisputed champion.”
Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion with a first-round stoppage of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Rather than stay idle while Jones sought a title defense against Stipe Miocic, the Englishman defended the interim crown against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last July. Aspinall has since been quite vocal regarding his frustration with the stagnant heavyweight title picture.
While White was initially confident that Jones vs. Aspinall would happen at some point in 2025, “Bones” lack of interest in that fight eventually won out.
“I obviously feel bad for Tom that he lost all that time and obviously money but we’ll make it up to him,” White said at the UFC Baku post-fight press conference. “Tom Aspinall’s a good guy. He’s been incredible through this whole process that we’ve gone through. He’s been willing to do anything, fight him anywhere at any time and do this and now he’s like ‘I’ll fight anybody — you tell me who and I’ll fight them.’
“Aspinall’s been great. He’s going to be a great heavyweight champion for us. I’m excited to work with him.”
It’s unclear when Aspinall will make his first title defense, but it’s possible that he gets added to an already announced event due to his lengthy layoff. The general consensus is that contenders like Ciryl Gane and Jailton Almeida could get the first shot at championship gold. However, a wildcard could be former two-division kingpin Alex Pereira, who recently posted a video of himself tipping the scales at 243 pounds.
After UFC CEO Dana White announced that Jon Jones was retiring at the UFC Baku post-fight press conference, Aspinall reacted to the news — as well as being elevated to undisputed heavyweight champ — in a brief statement on Instagram.
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Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champion with a first-round stoppage of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Rather than stay idle while Jones sought a title defense against Stipe Miocic, the Englishman defended the interim crown against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last July. Aspinall has since been quite vocal regarding his frustration with the stagnant heavyweight title picture.
Aspinall Looks Forward to Being an Active UFC Champion
While White was initially confident that Jones vs. Aspinall would happen at some point in 2025, “Bones” lack of interest in that fight eventually won out.
“I obviously feel bad for Tom that he lost all that time and obviously money but we’ll make it up to him,” White said at the UFC Baku post-fight press conference. “Tom Aspinall’s a good guy. He’s been incredible through this whole process that we’ve gone through. He’s been willing to do anything, fight him anywhere at any time and do this and now he’s like ‘I’ll fight anybody — you tell me who and I’ll fight them.’
“Aspinall’s been great. He’s going to be a great heavyweight champion for us. I’m excited to work with him.”
It’s unclear when Aspinall will make his first title defense, but it’s possible that he gets added to an already announced event due to his lengthy layoff. The general consensus is that contenders like Ciryl Gane and Jailton Almeida could get the first shot at championship gold. However, a wildcard could be former two-division kingpin Alex Pereira, who recently posted a video of himself tipping the scales at 243 pounds.
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