Tom Aspinall believes UFC 304 will crown the world’s best heavyweight: “Jon Jones and Stipe are doing their thing"

Tom Aspinall will face Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event of UFC 304 in Manchester, England, on July 27. The pair will clash for the interim heavyweight title, but the Mancunian believes that whoever wins the bout will be the rightful top heavyweight on the planet.

Aspinall won the interim title on short-notice at UFC 295 after the original main event between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic was canceled. The pair were set to compete for the undisputed heavyweight title, held by 'Bones', who suffered a torn pectoral muscle several weeks before fight night and was forced to withdraw.

The 31-year old replaced them, alongside Sergei Pavlovich, with Aspinall securing a first-round KO win.

Despite the fact that Jones still holds the main heavyweight belt, the interim titleholder is viewed by many fans as the true champion of the division given the American's inactivity

Ahead of UFC 304, the Mancunian previewed his rematch with Blaydes on Fox Sports' mainevent, saying:

"I'm still gonna be an interim champion if I win this Saturday. But let's make no mistake, this fight is for the [title of] number one heavyweight in the world. Regardless of titles, which one's the undisputed and which one's the interim. The real people, the real fans, the real guys know this fight defines who's the best heavyweight in the world. Jon Jones and Stipe are doing their thing, they've got a title, fair play. Whatever. This is the number one guy in the world fight."

Watch Tom Aspinall's interview below (5:55):

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Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes have totally different feelings about fighting at 4 a.m.

UFC 304 will push UK fans, and those competing on the card, to the absolute limit. The main card is scheduled to start around 3 a.m., meaning that Tom Aspinall's co-main event clash will begin at roughly 4:30 a.m.

Aspinall's opponent, Curtis Blaydes, recently expressed his annoyance at having to fight at such a strange time. But the interim champion shares a totally different attitude toward the fight time.

He was recently interviewed by Ariel Helwani ahead of fight night, where he said this about the starting times:

"If you can fight really well at 12 o'clock, midnight, but you can't fight really well at 4 a.m., you weren't that good in the first place in my opinion. There's plenty of times that I've traveled across the world and fought in different timezones without even adjusting myself. If that's an excuse, mate, you're not that good in the first place."

Watch Tom Aspinall's interview below (14:15):