Tom Aspinall given UFC title message ahead of unification hopes

The 30-year-old from Atherton became interim champion last month when - at a fortnight's notice - he knocked out Russian juggernaut Sergei Pavlovich inside 69 seconds at Madison Square Garden.

With the initial headline event between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic having been cancelled after the former suffered a serious pectoral injury in training, there's been huge speculation as to what lies next for Aspinall.

The man himself is desperate for a shot at Jones, but UFC chief Dana White says he must wait his turn in the queue - with even a fight in the meantime against Miocic not on the cards.

When asked about the prospect of Aspinall fighting Miocic, White replied on TNT Sports: “No. And we’re not stripping Jon Jones, either, he’s the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

“You’re a young guy (Aspinall), you were injured there for a while. You’ll get your shot, just wait, this fight has to happen and then we’ll figure out what’s next for you.

“I don’t know if Jon is going to be out for a long time. Aspinall could fight again, we’ll see how this plays out.

“Jones and Stipe, the fight, they both deserve it. Jon got injured, there’s nothing he can do about it

"We’ll see what happens in 2024. If Aspinall wants to fight before that happens, why not, why not let him defend it?

“That (defence against Miocic) ain’t happening.”

Aspinall had previously spoken of being 'caught in the crossfire', with potential fights against Ciryl Gane and Jailton Almeida also being mooted.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I think the division is an absolute mess at the top and I'm kind of caught in the crossfire

"Right now there are two guys who have a really short space of time and I have an opportunity to fight.

"They're two guys I'm a massive fan of and mentioned as the greatest of all time in Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones.

"I want my opportunity before it's too late and I'm getting a lot of criticism for that, but I think I've got to shoot my shot while it's available because that time is going to run out soon.

"I'm not saying I'm not going to fight guys like Gane and Almeida - of course I'm going to fight these guys before my career is over."

For his part, Jones is content to let others do the talking, while remaining focused only on his recovery.

"I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped,” he tweeted, in seeming reference to Aspinall. “Zero wins over legends, zero title defences and already thinking you can call the shots to Dana, that's hilarious.

"In my 15-year career I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing. There's ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that."