Tom Aspinall reveals Stipe Miocic rejected UFC 300 clash: “I, of course, accepted”

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was offered a chance to face Stipe Miocic in April.

It’s been a frustrating last few months for the British champion. In November at UFC 295, Tom Aspinall stepped up on short notice to face Sergei Pavlovich for interim heavyweight gold. The card was originally slated to be headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, but the bout was scrapped after ‘Bones’ suffered an injury.

At UFC 295, Tom Aspinall captured the gold with a first-round knockout win. Quickly, he zeroed in on both the aforementioned Jon Jones, as well as Stipe Miocic. Tom Aspinall has repeatedly called out both men and ‘Bones’ has stonewalled him at every turn. For Jones, he wants Miocic next, and that’s not up for discussion.

However, Stipe Miocic has seemed somewhat open to facing Tom Aspinall. Earlier this month, the former heavyweight champion responded to the Brit on social media with a message. The message was simple, if he defeats Jon Jones, he will unify the titles with him. The two’s back and forth seemingly attracted the attention of the UFC itself.

Taking to X earlier today, Tom Aspinall revealed that he was offered a fight with Stipe Miocic at UFC 300 in April. Naturally, the interim champion accepted the bout. However, in a follow-up post, Aspinall revealed that Miocic turned the fight down, and will instead wait to face Jon Jones.

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Tom Aspinall reveals Stipe Miocic rejected UFC 300 fight in April

“Believe it or not I respect [Jon Jones] and everything he has done. So impressive. I wish him all the best in his recovery and return against [Stipe Miocic].” Tom Aspinall wrote on X earlier today. “While we are talking about [Miocic], my manager was contacted by the UFC asking if I’d like to fight him on Apr 13th. I, of course, accepted.”

He continued in another series of posts, “A little later, we were told that [Miocic] doesn’t want to fight me, and only interested in fighting [Jones] On that note. I will stop crying, accept it ain’t gonna happen and enjoy the fight that me and all the other fans want to see. Legend vs legend for the heavyweight title. Maximum respect guys. Yay.”

Stipe Miocic rejecting a fight with Tom Aspinall comes as no real surprise. While the former champion has shown interest in facing the Brit, he still has his sights on Jon Jones. Interestingly enough, ‘Bones’ was also offered the chance to return at UFC 300 in April, but was forced to decline due to injury.

As of now, the heavyweight champion has no scheduled date to return but has teased a comeback in the fall. That’s bad news for one Tom Aspinall, who’s seemingly tired of waiting around.

What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Tom Aspinall vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC 300? Who do you have in that potential heavyweight bout?