Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos believes interim titleholder Tom Aspinall should be promoted to undisputed champion “soon.”
Aspinall won the interim belt in November by knocking out Sergei Pavlovic in 69 seconds, but the interim title was removed from the UFC 295 card at Madison Square Garden after Jon Jones suffered an injury. It was created later. “Bones” has yet to return to action, and Miocic opted to wait for Jones rather than face Aspinall for the interim title.
“Cigano” said this in mixed martial arts Trocason Franca He said on the podcast that he was “impressed” with Aspinall, a 30-year-old heavyweight from England who has 14 professional wins and a 100 percent decision win.
“He should be considered a champion because he is a man of the hour,” dos Santos said. “If Jon Jones doesn't come back soon, we have to take his belt off and make Aspinall's belt undisputed. I think he's doing a great job. He's really tough. He's skilled and competent at what he does. This is a new moment for the UFC's heavyweight division.”
Dos Santos didn't criticize Jones and Miocic for choosing to just wait and fight next, given the magnitude of both men's careers inside the Octagon.
But dos Santos wonders what's going on behind the curtain.
“The UFC has always been complicated in the sense that they ignore the will of the champion and the challenger and do things their way,” Dos Santos said. “If that makes sense, [Jones and Miocic], I root for them. This is a fight that the world really wanted to see, and I'm really excited about this fight, and especially if they believe that's the path they should follow right now, what could this happen? I don't know if it's blocking it. Let's continue and see what happens. ”
But dos Santos acknowledged that while this matchup could be the main focus for both fighters, a UFC belt isn't necessarily needed to make Jones vs. Miocic special.
“The belt is obviously a goal for every athlete, but it's more about getting where you are today,” Dos Santos said. “The belt is a symbol of you being No. 1, but even Jon Jones and Miocic, we already know they're No. 1 and No. 2, at least they're the top of the division. Actually. Mr. Renan [Ferreira] It just came into the mix. [Laughs.]
“But they're both very experienced and have long careers, so I think they should do what's best for them, like fighting just to fight or doing something they don't believe in at this stage of their careers. There's no point in doing that. Let's see what happens next.”
