If education counts for anything, Tom Aspinall should get his wish. The interim UFC heavyweight champion went there in the co-main event of UFC 304 and defeated Curtis Blaydes in just 60 seconds, then turned his attention to current division champion Jon Jones.
“Hello Jon,” Aspinall said to the camera after his victory over Blaydes. “I have nothing against you personally, but I think I’m better than you. I just know I can beat you in a fight, so I’m going for it.”
This was met with a general roar of approval from the morning crowd at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. There was also widespread consensus in many corners of the MMA internet, where fans, media and even other fighters chimed in to say how much they would like to see Aspinall get his shot.
After all, it makes sense. Here is Aspinall, the interim belt holder. There’s Jones, the true holder of the belt. Having Aspinall defend this version of the title against Blaydes while Jones prepares for a separate fight against former champion Stipe Miocic was already pretty silly. Stick to the Jones vs. Jones plan Miocic would now be completely ridiculous.
In part because, as the UFC has sometimes learned the hard way, the window of opportunity in fights like this can close quickly. Remember when we were talking about Jones’ dream matchup against Francis Ngannou? Instead of opening the war chest to make this happen, UFC bosses chose to fight one side and then the other, and the end result was no fight at all.
But there’s also the fact that if you don’t put Aspinall in a fight with Jones now, what would you do with him? He has fought and beaten other heavyweights that matter. He can’t keep defending an interim title forever. Unifying the titles is the only thing that makes sense, and putting Aspinall on the shelf so Jones can check off another box on his personal legacy to-do list would be the worst kind of waste.
Aspinall did everything you could ask of him. He fought all the contenders. He finished them all quickly. He even appeared on TV and asked very nicely. Do you really want to say no to him, just so Miocic can get his first fight in over three years? Are we really going to hit the snooze button on a guy who could be the future of the UFC heavyweight division so we can get one more glimpse into his past?
Now, some other thoughts on UFC 304:
– How can you not be at least a little happy for Belal Muhammad? Hated. Fired. Mocked at his own relentless self-confidence. But when he finally got his UFC title shot, he proved he deserved to be there. Muhammad burst through the gates in the UFC 304 main event as Leon Edwards struggled to begin. Muhammad defeated the champion early and then held on late to become the new UFC welterweight champion, a title few outside his inner circle thought he had any chance of winning.
It has been a long road for Muhammad. For some reason, this sport just doesn’t seem to want to give it the respect it deserves. Even with his long undefeated streak, he was constantly dismissed until the moment he crossed the cage and planted the champion on his back. Now he’s giving us no choice. No longer asking for our respect, Muhammad entered enemy territory and took it. Whatever you want to say about him, you absolutely must say it.
– That’s not the strategy I expected from King Green… or the victory I expected from Paddy Pimblett. And yet, that’s why they fight, right? Green’s decision to go for a takedown in the first round put him right where Pimblett wanted him. You can’t invite that guy to grab his neck and not expect him to make the most of it. Thus continues the unlikely rise of “The Baddy”. In terms of skill, there seem to be gaps in the game. Other fighters practically salivated over them. He doesn’t seem like he should keep getting away with this, but he does. And here he actually looked pretty smart doing it.
– See you soon and good luck, Muhammad Mokaev. He started a hotel fight with his opponent the week of the fight, then admitted he did it on purpose with a very intentional cheap shot during a fake photo opportunity. And if you thought maybe that would be okay since it would at least guarantee a cage war on fight night, no, guess again. Mokaev even had the courage to make Max Holloway’s point, only to refuse to fulfill his promise in the center of the cage. UFC president Dana White said afterward that matchmakers weren’t interested in re-signing Mokaev, and it’s not hard to see why. Let him perform this act elsewhere. See if he can figure out how to make it worth watching there.
