Chael Sonnen recently claimed that the winner of the Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall bout this weekend should aim for a fight against Tai Tuivasa next, rather than Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic.
Sonnen stated that if Aspinall gets the win against Blaydes, he should not go after Jones or Miocic. The two former UFC champions are tipped to collide in a mega clash soon.
Sonnen rather believes that the winner of Tuivasa's fight with Ciryl Gane should be Aspinall's goal. 'The American Gangster' said in a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel:
"Whether he goes right after Stipe, whether he goes right directly to Jon Jones, or he pushes them both aside and the world's listening. He says, 'Guys, I am now the No.1 contender, it's me. And I am gonna be taking on the winner of Tuivasa and Ciryl Gane.'"
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'The Bad Guy' added that 'Bam Bam' is the biggest star in the heavyweight division at the moment. He is the one who can fill out an arena. Sonnen said:
"Make no mistake, Aspinall is chasing Tuivasa. Tuivasa is the biggest star at heavyweight. That is the guy that's gonna move the needle and pack the house the most. I understand that. But Tom's right behind him."
Watch Chael Sonnen talk about Tom Aspinall possibly calling out Tai Tuivasa:
Blaydes vs. Aspinall is set to go down in the main event of UFC London this weekend. It's a clash of No.4 and No.6-ranked fighters, and the winner might find themselves in the No.1 contender's spot.
Tai Tuivasa is set to return in September against Ciryl Gane
Tai Tuivasa earned a phenomenal stoppage win against knockout king Derrick Lewis in his last fight at UFC 271. 'Bam Bam' will take on former interim champion Ciryl Gane in his next fight at UFC Paris.
Gane is coming off his first career loss against Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. He will have the risky task of handling a knockout threat like Tuivasa on September 3.
While Tuivasa's knockout prowess is well respected, even Francis Ngannou barely landed a hard shot on 'Bon Gamin'. That said, the elusive Frenchman needs to be at his very best to get past the 29-year-old Australian heavyweight.