Tom Aspinall opens up on UFC 300 negotiations to fight Alex Pereira: “I’m good to go!”
Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was down to fight Alex Pereira in April.
The British fighter has been out of action since a short-notice bout with Sergei Pavlovich in November. Tom Aspinall famously stepped up on two weeks’ notice, after Jon Jones pulled out of his title defense with Stipe Miocic. As a result, the Brit faced Pavlovich for interim gold.
At UFC 295 last fall, Tom Aspinall won the interim title with a first-round knockout win. Following the victory, the newly crowned champion called to face both Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. Given ‘Bones’ having an injury, a fight with him would be off the table until late in the year.
However, Dana White seemingly liked the sound of Tom Aspinall vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC 300. Last month, the interim heavyweight champion revealed that he was offered the bout, and he accepted. However, Miocic turned it down, leaving him without an opponent.
Weeks on from that fight offer, Tom Aspinall is still interested in competing at the milestone event. Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani earlier today, the heavyweight was asked about fighting at UFC 300. There, Aspinall again showed interest but revealed that previously discussed bouts with the likes of Alex Pereira are off the table.
‘Poatan’ was linked to UFC 300, same as Tom Aspinall. However, despite teases from both men, the bout won’t be happening. According to Aspinall, Alex Pereira has no interest in competing at heavyweight right now.
Tom Aspinall opens up on talks to fight Alex Pereira at UFC 300 in April
“I told the UFC, if you want me to be ready, I’m going to be ready for the card.” Tom Aspinall stated on The MMA Hour alongside Ariel Helwani earlier today. “They offered me Stipe, I was like, of course. Of course. Then it came back an hour later, that Stipe just wanted to fight Jones. Then, there was talks about Alex Pereira moving up to heavyweight. As I said mate, I’m not the type of guy to start turning down fights, I’ve never turned down a fight in my life.”
He continued, “I’m not going to start now, you know what I mean? I’m not intending on starting now. When I started hearing rumors of that, me and Alex started doing a little bit of online flirting back and forward. But we have a couple of mutual friends, and it’s come to light that Alex isn’t going to move up to heavyweight yet… Fair play, I’m not going to push for that anymore.”
“…Who knows man?” Tom Aspinall concluded when asked about his UFC 300 status. “I just took a fight on two weeks notice so. I’m good to go, I’m good to go.”
While UFC 300 currently lacks a main event, the card does feature many other incredible matchups. As of now, fights such as Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway, Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan, and Kayla Harrison vs. Holly Holm have been added to the milestone event.
What do you make of this news? Would you like to have seen Tom Aspinall vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 300?
