Tom Aspinall explains why the 'older' version of himself would have said no to short-notice Sergei Pavlovich fight

Tom Aspinall is set to lock horns with Sergei Pavlovich for the interim UFC heavyweight title at UFC 295.

Originally, the card was expected to be headlined by a heavyweight title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. But 'Bones' had to withdraw from the fight and, as a result, Aspinall and Pavlovich were matched up for the interim title in the co-main event.

Aspinall recently sat down for an interview with Adam Catterall of TNT Sports to discuss his upcoming title fight. At one point. the 30-year-old shared that an older version of himself would not have accepted the short-notice interim title fight as his health and physical training were not up to the mark.

Aspinall added that he had improved mentally and physically over time and thus did not feel any hesitation in accepting the challenge:

"The old Tom Aspinall would have definitely said 'No.' 100 percent. Like, obviously my body was not in a good spot and also my training is so good now because I'm training with heavyweights all the time now like every day. I know where I'm at, whereas before, I was only training with heavyweights like every so often. So, it was hard to kind of get a gauge of how fit I am, how strong I am... My body and mind are in such a good spot right now, it's just be silly to say 'No.'"

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments from the 3:30 mark below:

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Michael Bisping predicts Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has weighed in on the upcoming heavyweight clash between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

'The Count' was asked for his opinion on the fight on X (formerly Twitter). Bisping responded by picking Aspinall to emerge victorious via first-round finish:

"I think [Aspinall] takes it. Round 1. Big fan of Sergei as well though."

Aspinall has competed in seven UFC fights and gotten his hand raised in six of them. His only loss in the promotion was the result of a knee injury in his fight against Curtis Blaydes.

If the 30-year-old manages to capture the title on November 11, he will join Bisping and Leon Edwards in the very short list of British fighters to have held a UFC title.