Tom
Aspinall believes he can get the better the Alexander
Volkov yet again in a potential rematch.
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Aspinall is slated to defend his interim heavyweight title in a
rematch against Curtis
Blaydes in the main event at UFC 304
on Saturday in Manchester, England. Meanwhile, Volkov is fresh off
a unanimous decision win over Sergei
Pavlovich at UFC Abu Dhabi last month. While a clash between
Volkov and Ciryl Gane
is reportedly in the works for UFC 308
in Abu Dhabi in October, “Drago” claimed to have not received a
contract for the bout a week ago.
Meanwhile, lineal champ Jon Jones is
currently sidelined with injury and slated to fight former champ
Stipe
Miocic upon his return. With Miocic having not fought in over
three years, Volkov considers the Jones vs. Miocic matchup more of
a fantasy fight rather than a real title fight. Volkov recently
called for rematch against Aspinall, with a potential win putting
him in a title unification bout against “Bones.”
“To save the world, the championship belt and the UFC’s reputation
I need to beat Aspinall first, then beat Jon Jones and
unify the interim and the main heavyweight belts,” Volkov told
Match TV (via Red Corner MMA).
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Aspinall scored a first-round submission win over Volkov in their
initial encounter at UFC London in March 2022. While “Honey Badger”
doesn’t underestimate Volkov in any way, the Brit believes he can
dispatch the Russian in the first round yet again in a potential
rematch.
“It didn’t go that well for him the first time,” Aspinall told
Red Corner MMA. “Well, I don’t know, if it
happens, it happens. I’m open to any fight. I’ve never turned a
fight down in my life. Volkov’s a solid guy, a solid opponent. I
beat him in the first round last time, and I think I can beat him
in the first round again. That’s no disrespect to Volkov. I think
he’s solid, but I just think I’m better than him. But again, as I
always say, heavyweight MMA, it’s no two fights that are the same.
He definitely has the skills to beat me. I’m not saying anything
bad about him. But I think skill for skill, I’m head and shoulders
above him. No disrespect to him, I like him, but that’s my
opinion.”
Aspinall also spoke about his liking for Russian fighters in
general, which primarily stems from the “respectful” attitude he
has seen in them.
“From my personal experience with Russians, I just find them really
respectful, really positive and just nice genuine people to get
along with,” Aspinall said. “As I said, I’m not speaking of anybody
else’s experience, that’s my experience. And as fighters, they’re
just solid. They’re good everywhere. They’re all lifelong martial
artists like me, the ones who I fought are anyway. And just like
solid respectful human beings from my experience at least.”