Could Tom Aspinall be the man to beat UFC GOAT Jon Jones?
UFC Heavyweight Tom Aspinall put his division class on notice after defeating Sergei Pavlovich to become the first British Heavyweight to win a UFC title.
Aspinall came out flying and knocked his opponent out in 69 seconds, securing the interim heavyweight championship on November 12th.
The interim fight between the pair was a late addition to the card after the scheduled main event of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic was called off due to Jones' injury.
In the build-up to his heavyweight title defense, Jones suffered a tear of the pectoral tendon off the bone during training, an injury that will keep him out for over eight months.
Aspinall, the current interim heavyweight champion, believes Jones should be stripped of his title due to the severity of his injury.
According to bleacherreport.com, Aspinall said: "I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title, to be honest, because everyone else does when they get injured like that."
"I don't see why he's still got it. I don't understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now. I want to fight Stipe, and then I want to fight Jon Jones. I think all this other stuff is rubbish."
With a storyline of vicious knockouts and a record of 27 wins and one loss in the UFC at multiple divisions, Jon Jones is the greatest fighter in the heavyweight division, so if Aspinall is to become a worthy champion, he must fight Jones.
Can Tom Aspinall beat GOAT Jon Jones? Heavyweight boxing champion and friend of Aspinall's, Tyson Fury, believes if anyone can do it, Aspinall is the man.
According to tntsport.co.uk, Fury said: "It's a tough one, Jon Jones is the Tyson Fury of boxing. People are unable to beat him. It's a very tough one. Even though Tom Aspinall's a mate, Jon Jones is probably considered the greatest of all time in MMA, so I don't know."
"It's probably like, can anyone beat Vladimir Klitschko before Tyson Fury beat him? Probably not, but then Tyson Fury beat him. So, if anyone can beat Jon Jones, it'll be Tom Aspinall. Nobody else."
As he did against Pavlovich, Aspinall brutally TKO'd Marcin Tybura in the first round at UFC London in July, and former UFC champion Michael Bisping believes Aspinall would blow Jones away like he did against Tybura.
According to skysports.com, Bisping said: "I do 100 percent believe he will be champion. I know he will be champion barring any freak injury or bad luck, he will be champion of the world."
"Jon Jones is heavyweight champion, he's an incredible fighter, incredible, one of the greatest of all time, but I don't think he can hold a candle to Tom."
Jones has been dominant in the UFC for over a decade, defending his light heavyweight title on multiple occasions against different generations of champions and securing the heavyweight title.
Jones doesn't have to fight Aspinall. He's been there and wore the t-shirt in the biggest UFC fights. However, if Aspinall is to get his dream matchup, some famous critics believe he is the man to defeat the UFC GOAT!