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When Tom Aspinall makes his return at UFC 321, he will end his hiatus from action after 455 days. After getting elevated to the undisputed champion status, he now has the opportunity to beat a contender whom Dana White called the best heavyweight when he fought Jon Jones at UFC 285, Ciryl Gane. However, it seems like Aspinall cannot avoid questions related to the consensus UFC GOAT. Jon Jones wants Alex Pereira and has shown little interest in a fight against Tom Aspinall. ‘Bones’ wants a legacy fight, and considering how accomplished ‘Poatan’ is, a win over him will add to his legacy and surely generate good money for them and the UFC. After Pereira’s UFC 320 victory, even he expressed his wish to fight Jones at the White House. So, a media representative wanted to know why fighters tend to avoid the reigning champion, and in response, Aspinall shared his real objective in the UFC. Tom Aspinall is here to do only one thing, while Jon Jones chases a UFC White House fight Tom Aspinall claims that he understands the current situation, and some people may get the feeling that he struggles to secure fights. But the general discussion often revolves around the ‘big names’. There are other contenders as well. “There’s still guys what want it [to fight me]. Maybe just not the bigger names, you know, those guys who have done enough to do whatever they want,” Aspinall stated during the UFC 321 media day. The Salford native doesn’t seem like he’s clamoring to secure a fight against Jon Jones or Alex Pereira. Tom Aspinall understands his role as a champion, and he intends to defend the belt as many times as he needs to and face the next challenger after handling his business with Ciryl Gane. “I’m the champion. I fight the #1 contender… In my opinion, that’s how champions are supposed to work. It’s like, you’re the guy, you fight the next guy, prove you’re the best, and you rinse and repeat that as long as possible.” Well, Aspinall has work to do because he hasn’t yet cemented his legacy in the UFC, and this weekend, the fight against Gane, for many people, the champion will be under pressure to perform and make his claim as the best heavyweight in the promotion. But as far as Jon Jones is concerned, Tom Aspinall has no qualms with the former two-division champ and hopes that he gets what he’s looking for, a fight at the White House, even though Dana White has dismissed chances of that happening. “I don’t care [that Jones retired and came back]. I’m like, focused on my own career,” Tom Aspinall added. “As soon as they said that I’ve got a fight, that’s all I thought about, to be honest. It’s just that I’m fighting, and that’s it... I hope he gets what he wants. Wish him all the best, yeah!” Meanwhile, there are some fans who may be wondering if there’s another reason Jon Jones doesn’t want to entertain a fight against Tom Aspinall, apart from the ducking claims. That’s because Ciryl Gane recently made a statement revealing that the Englishman “disrespected” the consensus GOAT. Here’s what he had to say. Ciryl Gane claims Aspinall rubbed Jon Jones the wrong way Even though Tom Aspinall has shown little interest in chasing a fight against Jon Jones initially, he did express his wish to go for that and even called him out after his last fight at UFC 304. Ahead of his first title defense as the undisputed champion, Ciryl Gane was confident that Jones would back him to win at UFC 321 because he believed Aspinall may have offended his former rival during their past verbal exchanges. “Maybe, because I think Tom disrespected him a little bit. So maybe he’s going to be on my side. Maybe, but yes, he retired, now it’s our turn, and we will see this Saturday,” the Frenchman told Full Send MMA. Ciryl Gane is getting his third chance at the undisputed title, so he’s fully locked in on making the most of the opportunity in a battle between a new generation of heavyweight fighters. Well, Tom Aspinall has a fight coming up, and he’s been making the right moves and focusing on the task at hand. There is always a chance that Dana White reconsiders his decision and gives him a fight against Jon Jones at the White House if the champion can record two more victories. The CEO had been all in on the idea of making that fight, anyway. We’ll see how things pan out in the coming months.
