British fighter Tom Aspinall has pledged to bring activity back to the UFC`s heavyweight division. He recently became the undisputed champion without needing to compete for the title, following the retirement of Jon Jones.
The 32-year-old, originally holding the interim title, was elevated to undisputed champion last Sunday. This came after MMA legend Jon Jones withdrew from their highly anticipated multi-million-pound unification bout that was scheduled for November at Madison Square Garden.
Jones, 37, retired from mixed martial arts after a period where, according to Aspinall, he held the division static. Aspinall is now eager to move things forward rapidly.
Aspinall stated his commitment to being an active champion: “I am going to keep this thing as active as possible. I want to be the best heavyweight to ever walk the face of the Earth. I`m gonna defend this thing as many times as I possibly can and I`m gonna keep you guys entertained. I`m going to give back to everybody who has shown me support over the last year, over the last five years and over the last ten years. We`re gonna see an active defending UFC heavyweight undisputed champion going forward.”
The often controversial American, Jon Jones, retires having previously been charged with fleeing the scene of an accident. Despite this, he is recognized as the youngest champion in UFC history and widely considered one of the greatest fighters ever.
However, Aspinall insists that his own career achievements will not be diminished by the cancellation of his planned “dream” fight against the former pound-for-pound king.
Speaking about the situation, Aspinall commented, “Ultimately, I want to be the heavyweight champion of the world. It doesn’t really matter about Jon Jones. It’d be nice, it’d be a lovely cherry on the cake to have the scalp and get that experience. I’m a massive Jon Jones fan, first and foremost. It would just be awesome to experience that with Jon. But as Jon said, Jon said, ‘Don’t let me hold you back.’ And when he said that, he came out and said that in an interview, I thought, ‘You know what, he’s right.’ I’m not letting Jon hold me back.”
News of Jones` retirement followed shortly after he was charged on June 17 with fleeing the scene of an accident. While the incident occurred on February 27 in New Mexico and reportedly caused no serious harm, a police report details the situation.
The report states that a woman was found in the passenger seat of a vehicle involved in the crash, showing signs of intoxication and being partially undressed. She alleged that Jones was driving the car and left the scene on foot.
The woman admitted to consuming alcohol and mushrooms at Jones` home before the incident. Jones, when questioned by police later, presented a different account, claiming the woman drove away from his residence herself while intoxicated.
Percy Harlow