Tom Aspinall will not let anything stand in the way of him becoming 'the best heavyweight that has ever walked the face of the earth.'
After claiming the interim title at UFC 295, the Brit has been pursuing a unification bout against Jon Jones for some time but to no avail. Having been matched to face Stipe Miocic prior to his pectoral injury, all parties seem to prefer the idea of running the bout back once Jones is injury free before the potential bout against Aspinall.
This had led to somewhat of a frustrating time for the 30-year-old, who in an uncharacteristic move, took to social media to vent his frustrations. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Aspinall said he’s past feeling sorry for himself and is ready to pursue a monumental goal.
“I was definitely feeling sorry for myself, you know. I had a little cry about it. I did a lot of complaining about it. Anyone who knows me personally knows that complaining is my forte. I like to complain. So, I was a little bit of a Karen, as we say in the UK. I had a little cry about it publicly but as I have just said to you, when I first started this sport, me and my Dad, we had this dream that I'm going to be the heavyweight champion, that I'm going to go down as the best heavyweight in history. And to be honest with you, I'm ain’t going to let nothing or nobody hold me back. No Jon Jones, no Stipe Miocic, no Dana White, no UFC politics.
“Like, if they don't want to be involved with it, I respect their decision and I respect the movement they're making. I respect Jon Jones and everything that he’s done, I respect the UFC’s decision, but they're not holding me back. I am going to be the best heavyweight ever, no matter which way it goes.”
However, Aspinall ensured fans that if the opportunity did come up to compete against either Jones or Miocic, he would jump at the chance. He said:
“Offer me the fight with either of them, I'm taking it instantaneously. Let's not get it twisted here Ariel, I'm taking the fight, but none of them two are going to fight me, mate. Let's be honest. None of them two are going to fight me. And that's okay. Like, I'm at peace with it. That's not what you want to do.”
When questioned on the reasons he believes neither Jones or Miocic would not want to take the fight, Aspinall respectfully but very plainly laid out the exact reason he thinks neither man will face him.
“I'm too dangerous, man. I'm too risky. I'm too risky. Simple. I'm too risky for these guys. Who knows? One day, maybe when the shoes on the other foot, and I'm on the back end of my career, I get put in a situation like that I'll do the same thing. I'm not blaming anybody like I want to say how much respect I have for both guys.
“These guys are fr*gging heroes of mine. That is part of the reason that I would love to get the opportunity to fight them. But if it's not happening, it's not happening. The crying is over!”
UFC 300 is still without a main event, with MMA fans having speculated for months as to who will feature at the top of one of the biggest cards of the year. Aspinall admitted that there had been a conversation with the UFC, and even some potential opponents offered, but it is looking unlikely. He said:
“So I told the UFC that if they want me to be ready, I'm going to be ready for the card. They offered me Stipe.
“I was like, of course, of course. And like one hour later, they came back and was like, ‘No. Stipe just wants to fight Jones. Then there was talks about Alex Pereira moving up to heavyweight. As I said, I ain’t the kind of guy who's going to start turning down fights. I've never turned down a fight in my life and I'm not going to start now.
“You know what I mean, I am not intending on starting now. So when I started hearing rumors about that, me and Alex maybe did a little bit on line flirting back and forward. But we have a couple of mutual friends and it came to light that Alex isn't going to move up to heavyweight yet. So again, I respect Alex. Respected decision is a champ in his own right, fair play - I ain’t going to push for that anymore."
Watch the full interview, here:
