The UFC’s new interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is becoming increasingly adamant that a title defense against Stipe Miocic makes the most sense for the pair as they wait for Jon Jones to heal up.
“Stipe was ready to go two weeks ago when he was supposed to fight Jon Jones, who else am I gonna fight at this point?” Aspinall told The Mac Life. “Jon Jones is injured, what else is knocking around at the moment that makes sense?
“Ciryl [Gane] and [Jailton] Almeida should fight. I stick with that. I’ll fight the winner, but I believe they’re both good fighters, obviously, but I think I’m more interested in Stipe right now.”
“It would be epic,” Aspinall continued. “Stipe is one of my favorite fighters ever. I believe he’s the best heavyweight ever and I want to see what it feels like stepping in the octagon with the best heavyweight ever and I want to experience that before I retire, which is gonna be ages away, but more importantly, before he retires which is in the not too distant future.
“It makes complete sense. I don’t know why anyone would dispute that. He’s free, I’m free, Jones is injured, I’ve got an interim title now, so why not? For Stipe, it’s an absolute must-win, isn’t it? If he gets knocked out, he’s getting knocked out against a young guy who’s already a champion. If he wins, it might [help] generate the hype between Jon and him.”
For now though it seems that Miocic plans to wait for Jones, and if that remains the case then it’ll be interesting to see whether Aspinall also continues to sit out until his opportunity eventually comes, or if the UFC will look to put him up against the likes of Gane or Almeida instead to keep the division moving.
