Tom Aspinall welcomes a fight with Alexandre Pereira.
Light heavyweight champion Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has emerged as one of the biggest and most active stars on the UFC roster. He is coming off his second title defense, knocking out Jiri Prochazka in their title rematch last Saturday at UFC 303.
Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) praised Pereira for his achievements. He would be more than happy to fight him if “Poatan” decides to move up to heavyweight, as he has previously teased.
“As we’ve seen with me, I’m not running from anyone,” Aspinall said talkSPORT. “So if the UFC wants to do it, I’m more than happy to do it. But as an elite fighter, you can’t help but be impressed with what Alex Pereira has done over the last few years. This time, a few years ago, no one knew who he was and now he’s one of MMA’s biggest stars – one of the best fighters in UFC history.
“I really respect what he did. Does that mean I don’t want to fight him? No. I really want to fight him, but I’m sure there will be a time and a place for that. I’m not getting ahead of things now. I’m fighting Curtis Blaydes right now, and if that’s what the UFC wants to do one day, then we’ll definitely do it.”
Aspinall is preparing for his first title defense as interim heavyweight champion. He picks things back up with Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event of UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester, England.
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 304.
