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Tom Aspinall recently confirmed that he will serve as the backup for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, whenever they compete in their UFC heavyweight championship bout. The Englishman has been pursuing a title unification bout against 'Bones' since winning the interim heavyweight championship and is making himself available should he be called upon to step in.
The 31-year-old is coming off his first successful interim heavyweight title defense as he earned an impressive first-round knockout over Curtis Blaydes. The Englishman didn't receive any damage, considering the bout lasted a minute, and so he is the perfect choice for a backup in case Jones or Miocic is forced to withdraw.
While speaking to Sky Sports, the interim UFC heavyweight champion confirmed that he will in fact serve as the backup for 'Bones' next heavyweight title defense. Aspinall even went as far as mentioning that he is confident he could defeat Jones and Miocic in the same night. He said:
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"I'm gonna be the backup for the fight. If one of them pulls out, you better believe I'm in. On an hour's notice if I need to...I should be the undisputed heavyweight champion. Everybody knows that now...I took out every contender that there is at this point and I should be the UFC heavyweight champion...I'm the best heavyweight in the world and I'll wipe out both [Jones and Miocic] in one night if I need to."
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Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below:
Tom Aspinall claims he will wait for an undisputed UFC heavyweight title fight
Based on the reported timeline of UFC events, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic will likely take place in November, which means Tom Aspinall could be in for a lengthy layoff.
During the aforementioned clip, Aspinall mentioned that he had no interest in competing in another interim heavyweight title fight and disputed a potential bout against Alex Pereira in the meantime. He said:
"Yeah, mate, I'm fighting for the undisputed [UFC] heavyweight title next. And I'll fight anybody for the undisputed title, but I'm not fighting for an interim again, mate, when the undisputed [title] is active than I would be a bit of an idiot...I'd rather not [wait until next summer to fight Jones] but if I've got no choice, I got no choice."
Check out Tom Aspinall's post-fight comments regarding Jon Jones below:
