TOM ASPINALL has found it incredibly easy to ignore Jon Jones’ recent jibes over his attempt to unify the heavyweight titles.
UFC Hall of Famer Jones has been outspoken about his belief that current interim title holder Aspinall is not worthy of sharing the Octagon with him.
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Jones’ recent taunts – which included labeling Aspinall a “trainee champion” – and his duplication of a fight with Stipe Miocic have caused waves.
But they didn’t catch the attention of Aspinall, who is blocked from social media until after his next walk in the octagon.
Speaking ahead of filming the latest episode of TNT Sports’ Tom Aspinall’s Fight Lab, he told SunSport: “It’s been very easy [to ignore, mate]I’m off social media, so I don’t see it.
“But people on the street tell me things. “But honestly, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t know Jon, I’m not focused on Jon.
“When Jon signs on the dotted line to fight me, I will be focused on Jon.
“But now, I’m fighting Curtis Blaydes and I don’t care what anyone says, to be honest with you.”
Aspinall, to the disappointment of many, will defend his interim heavyweight title on July 27 in the co-main event of UFC 304 in Manchester.
The fan favorite will face perennial contender Curtis Blaydes in a rematch that has been in the works for nearly two years.
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Aspinall, 31, suffered a Horror knee injury in their first meeting at London’s O2 Arena, which briefly sent him into a dark spiral.
And warrior Wigan will have the opportunity to exorcise the memory of that fateful night in front of his loved ones, just a stone’s throw from home.
But right now, the redemption that a win over Blaydes will bring him is well and truly on his mind.
He said: “I’m not thinking about anything else right now. All other things don’t matter.
“Honestly, it’s completely irrelevant to me all these things.
“Provisional title, all policy that comes with it – fighting in Manchester because of the time difference.
“There are so many different factors that you can sit and worry about.
“But at the end of the day, I can’t let it get to me, I can’t let it get into my psyche.
“I only need to think about one thing: Curtis Blaydes and what I have to do against him. All these other things, I’ll think about later.”
Both men have shown notable improvements since summernight in North Greenwich.
“He looked fine [since we fought],” Aspinall said of the American. “He lost to Pavlovich. But Pavlovch is an absolute truck.
“If you negotiate with Pavlovich, there is a chance he will break your head.
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“And that’s exactly what happened in Curtis’ case.
“And he came back and won, disrupting the hype train, so to speak, in Almeida. He gave a perfect performance against him.
“He looked good and showed some things I didn’t know about his game.
“We’ve never seen anyone attack Curtis hard in grappling and what Curtis looks like defensively.
“And I saw some things there that I had never seen before, which is good. Cool a little bit of exposure there for his last fight.
“But Curtis is dangerous, Curtis is good anywhere. The guy is a veteran of the game and has been there forever.
“I think I read somewhere that he’s been in the UFC since he was 25, now he’s 33 or 34.
“So the guy is an absolute veteran of the game and has done everything.
“He’s a tough fight and I have to prepare for him just as hard, if not harder, than ever before.”
Watch Tom Aspinall’s Fight Lab on TNT Sports and Discovery+ from 9:45pm on Sunday. For more information visit tntsports.com
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
