Tom Aspinall has endured a nightmare year waiting to find out if he was actually going to fight Jon Jones or not but he finally got some clarity on Saturday when the now former UFC heavyweight champion announced his retirement from the sport.
As much as he wanted to face Jones after winning and defending the interim heavyweight title, Aspinall made it clear on numerous occasions that his main goal was staying active and becoming an undisputed champion. Now with Jones out of the picture, Aspinall has been promoted as the only heavyweight champion on the UFC roster and he’s ready to get back to work with lofty aspirations in mind.
While Aspinall says it was a “bit of a challenging time” dealing with the layoff and uncertainty, he’s excited for the future.
“I am going to keep this thing as active as possible,” Aspinall said in a video posted to his YouTube channel on Sunday. “I want to be the best heavyweight ever to walk the face of the Earth. I’m going to defend this thing as many times as I possibly can.”
Aspinall already holds a remarkable 8-1 record in the UFC with his lone loss coming after he suffered a serious knee injury in a fight against Curtis Blaydes. He eventually avenged that defeat with a blistering 60-second knockout over Blaydes in the rematch this past July.
In his eight wins in the UFC, Aspinall has only gone past the first round one time and he obviously maintains a perfect 100-percent finishing rate.
While it’s been a long wait to finally become undisputed champion, Aspinall says he’s ready to get busy with the Jones situation resolved and he hopes to book his next fight sooner than later.
“I’m going to keep you guys entertained and I’m really going to give back to everybody who has showed me support over the last year, over the last five years, over the last 10 years,” Aspinall said. “I really appreciate the support and love from everybody. We’re going to see an active, defending UFC heavyweight undisputed champion going forward.”
On Sunday, UFC CEO Dana White revealed plans to meet with Aspinall in Las Vegas during International Fight Week to discuss his next matchup.
The leading candidates for a potential title shot include Ciryl Gane and Jailton Almeida, but White didn’t speculate on any names just yet. He’s mostly waiting until sitting down with Aspinall to discuss options and then get his next fight booked.
With the UFC schedule already set through August and no plans for a September pay-per-view, it’s likely that Aspinall couldn’t fight any earlier than October for his potential return to action.
