Fighting on less than three weeks’ notice at
UFC 295, Tom
Aspinall is confident of getting his hands raised against
Sergei
Pavlovich, whom he believes is “the scariest guy in MMA.”
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Pavlovich (18-1) was supposed to be the backup fighter for the
originally scheduled UFC 295 main event between Jon Jones and
Stipe
Miocic. However, Aspinall (13-3) chose to step up on short
notice when the
Ultimate Fighting Championship put together an interim title
fight with Pavlovich after Jones was forced out due to an
injury.
Aspinall admits “two weeks” aren’t enough to prepare for a fight
and believes he is fighting Pavlovich under the worst possible
circumstances. However, the Brit is a slight favorite as of
publication time on many sportsbooks and has absolute confidence in
his ability to find a way to win despite the deck being stacked
against him.
“I’m fighting the scariest guy in MMA in my opinion, in the worst
circumstances possible without a training camp,” the 30-year-old
said during the UFC 295 media day. “I obviously think I can win.
I’m not the kind of guy who shows up for money. I ain’t signing a
contract and showing up if I don’t think I can win. I truly, truly
believe that I’m going to win on Saturday night. I’m an absolute
winner, and I’m going to find a way to win regardless of the
circumstances.”
Aspinall has finished all six of his UFC victories so far with his
only loss being a freak knee injury against Curtis
Blaydes in 2022. Meanwhile, Pavlovich is coming off six
straight first-round stoppage wins after suffering his lone pro
loss in his UFC debut against Alistair
Overeem in 2018.
Many fans and pundits believe the two surging prospects are the
rightful contenders for the UFC heavyweight title, which they
believe Jones should vacate. However, UFC CEO Dana White has
clearly stated that the interim champ has to wait for the winner of
Jones’ title defense against Miocic after the champ returns.
Nevertheless, for now, Aspinall isn’t too concerned with the title
being an interim one. The Brit remains hopeful of a clash against
“Bones” at some point.
“I’m fine with the interim. I’m not too bothered. It’ll work itself
out, I’m sure. Jones is obviously one of the best to ever do it.
I’ve got a lot of respect for him and hopefully, we’ll get to share
the cage one day.”