Tom Aspinall could be set for a seismic and long-awaited clash against UFC rival Jon Jones - after chief Dana White laid out the conditions for the potential fight.
The British fighter moved one step closer to the heavyweight champion after he secured the interim title with a superb KO victory over Sergei Pavlovich in November.
"Bones" was slated to fight former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November before suffering a torn pectoral muscle during his training camp and being forced to pull out. That fight is rumoured to be rescheduled for this November.
Meanwhile, Aspinall is set to take on Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in Manchester on Saturday night, with the stakes high for the winner.
UFC president Dana White confirmed that Aspinall and Jones will "absolutely" square off next if both men come through their upcoming fights.
He went on to rave about the potential of this weekend's event, which he believes will be the biggest to grace the UK so far.
"It's a big deal," White told the media. "This is probably [the biggest night in the UK for the UFC] We broke the gate record. It's not a long history of gates here at the new arena, but the main and co-main are Brits."
Jones, who has 27 wins and one loss, has not fought since his dominant submission win over Ciryl Gane in March 2023. However, he has teased that he could retire after his next fight against Miocic - in response to a fan who posed the question.
"Honestly, it’s hard to say right now," he said in a post on his X account. "I’m gonna base a lot of that on my next performance. The options are looking crazy right now.
Jones and Aspinall came face to face at a sports festival in Birmingham earlier this year and greeted each other briefly - with the former moving the latter's hand off his shoulder and declining a face-off.
Aspinall said of the meeting: ''[It] was good, we had a little chat, it was all good.
"I think he thought I was putting a hand on his shoulder to be disrespectful but I wasn't. I wasn't there to be disrespectful, I was doing it in a friendly way. I'm not going to cause more beef. I’m trying to fight the guy and take his belt, that’s what I want."
2024-07-26T10:11:24Z dg43tfdfdgfd