“Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou are inactive” - Tom Aspinall declares himself “best active heavyweight in MMA” after dominant UFC 295 victory

UFC 295 was Tom Aspinall's proving ground, as he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich within a minute of round one to capture the promotion's interim heavyweight title. Now, the specter of Jon Jones, the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, looms large over the Englishman's future. Logically, the two should fight to unify the belts.

Unfortunately, UFC CEO Dana White's plan is to book the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic matchup later, once 'Bones' recovers from his torn pectoral. While he may not be given the chance to prove it by fighting him, Tom Aspinall believes that he's MMA's best active heavyweight.

He said as much during an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, even mentioning former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who recently boxed Tyson Fury and hasn't taken part in an MMA bout since January 22, 2022:

"I am the best active heavyweight in the world right now in MMA. That's a fact. That's straight up facts. I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet or anything. Jon Jones is inactive right now. Francis Ngannou is inactive right now in MMA. As it stands, right now, on today's day, in 2023, I am the number one MMA athlete at heavyweight in the world."

It's a bold claim but a difficult one to refute. Tom Aspinall just knocked out Sergei Pavlovich, who was previously on a 6-fight win streak, with every win consisting of either a first-round knockout or TKO. Given even Jones' past avoidance of a matchup with Pavlovich, Aspinall deserves credit for beating him.

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Who is Tom Aspinall fighting next?

In the aftermath of Tom Aspinall's interim title win at UFC 295, the next logical step seems to be for him to face undisputed champion Jon Jones to unify the heavyweight division's title. Unfortunately, Dana White asserted at the post-fight press conference that his plan is still to book the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic bout.

With Jones having previously expressed a desire to retire after facing Miocic, Jones is likely to relinquish the undisputed title and Aspinall be promoted from the interim champion. Elsewhere in the division, Ciryl Gane expressed an interest in facing the Englishman after his interim title win.

However, still disappointed by Gane's previous refusal to fight him, Aspinall proposed a matchup between Ciryl Gane and Jailton Almeida instead.