Tom Aspinall Says He Deserves Jon Jones UFC Fight over Stipe Miocic: 'No Disrespect'

After winning the interim UFC heavyweight title on Saturday with a first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295, Tom Aspinall knows what he wants next.

Aspinall told TMZ Sports that he believes he should be next to face heavyweight champion Jon Jones instead of Stipe Miocic.

"I want to fight Jon Jones, man. And this is no disrespect to Stipe at all," Aspinall said. "After a performance like Saturday night, who really cares about 42-year-old Stipe who has not fought for 3 or 4 years coming back and fighting Jon Jones. Ya know what I mean? I just knocked out the scariest dude in the UFC in a minute."

Jones and Miocic were originally scheduled to meet in the main event of UFC 295, but the champ suffered a torn pectoral muscle in training and will miss significant time. Miocic, a former two-time heavyweight champion, hasn't fought since losing the title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021.

However, UFC president Dana White has maintained that Miocic will be next to face Jones whenever he returns in 2024. Aspinall said he understands the decision, but he believes he's done enough to steal the attention of UFC fans.

"I know it's like a big respect thing. Stipe is like the greatest heavyweight ever and Jon Jones is arguably the greatest MMA fighter ever. I get that. I completely get that, but it's also about relevance," he said. "It's also about excitement. It's also about what puts people in seats, what people are gonna buy pay-per-views, and I'm more exciting than anybody right now. I deserve a shot. I'm the champion."

It remains to be seen if Aspinall will get his wish, but that won't stop him from campaigning for a unification bout against Jones.

"Jon Jones is the champion. I'm not saying he's not," he added. "But I'm a champion as well and Stipe, and this is no disrespect to Stipe at all, I'm a massive fan of his, but Stipe at this point was guy who hasn't fought in three years and is coming off a loss."