Tom Aspinall endured a nightmare year waiting to know if he would actually compete with Jon Jones, but it finally became clear on Saturday when the current former UFC heavyweight champion announced his retirement from the sport.
Just as he wanted to face Jones after winning and defending the interim heavyweight title, Aspinel has revealed many times that his main goal remains active and has become an indisputable champion. With Jones off the picture, Aspinall has been promoted as the only heavyweight champion on the UFC roster, and he is ready to return to work with his high aspirations in mind.
Aspinall says it was a “slightly challenging time” dealing with layoffs and uncertainty, but he’s excited about the future.
“I’m going to keep this as active as possible,” Aspineol said in a video posted on his YouTube channel on Sunday. “I want to be the best heavyweight ever to walk on the face of the planet. I’ll protect this as many times as I can.”
Aspinall already holds an astonishing 8-1 record in the UFC, and his only loss has been incurred after suffering a knee injury in his fight with Curtis Braides. He ultimately lost Braides in a rematch this July with a rabid knockout of 60 seconds.
With eight UFC wins, Aspinall only passed one first round, apparently maintaining a 100% completion rate.
It was a long wait to become the uncontroversial champion in the end, but Aspinel is ready to get busy with Jones’ situation settling and wants to book his next fight early.
“I’m going to keep you entertained, and I’m going to really give back to everyone who has shown me support over the past five years and the last 10 years,” Aspinall said. “I am truly grateful for the support and love that everyone has given me. We will see the aggressive and defensive future of protecting the UFC’s meaningless heavyweight champion.”
On Sunday, UFC CEO Dana White revealed plans to meet with Aspinall in Las Vegas during International Combat Week to discuss the next match.
Key candidates for the potential title shot include Ciryl Gane and Mailton Almeida, but White hadn’t speculated about the name yet. He mainly sits with aspinel to discuss options and waits until he books his next fight.
With the UFC schedule already set up until August and no plans for a pay-per-view for September, it is possible that Aspinall could not have fought for his return to potential actions earlier than October.