Tom Aspinall isn’t fighting at UFC 309, yet his name is still the biggest talking point.
Aspinall didn’t even attend the final UFC 309 press conference in New York on Thursday, but he was still the centre of attention.
The 31-year-old Brit is the official backup fighter for Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic, who both headline UFC 309 at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
He became the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion, when Jones was out injured, by knocking out Russia’s Sergei Pavlovich in the first round at UFC 295 in November 2023.
Aspinall then defended the status by doing the same to Curtis Blaydes eight months later at UFC Manchester.
The main card at UFC 309 also has Michael Chandler returning after a two-year hiatus to challenge Charles Oliveira in what is set to be an incredible five-round co-main event.
Elite wrestler and hot middleweight prospect Bo Nickal challenges Scotland‘s MMA veteran Paul Craig on the main card too, while UFC legend Jim Miller and Wales’ Oban Elliot feature on the prelims.
UFC President Dana White hosted the press conference ahead of UFC 309 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, and it took less than 10 minutes for Aspinall’s name to be mentioned.
After White was asked about switching to the UFC’s old gloves ahead of UFC 309, which he responded by saying: ‘the old gloves are the new gloves’, he was then asked about Aspinall.
Jones announced in the buildup to UFC 309 that he had discussed his frustrations about the new gloves in a conversation with UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell.
This prompted Campbell to reverse UFC’s stance on the new gloves – that were introduced in April to reduce eye pokes – and White confirmed all future UFC events would revert back to the old gloves.
“We all know that this Saturday has to take place, but for you personally, do you still want to see the winner of this fight fight Tom Aspinall to unify the heavyweight title?,” said Oscar Willis, an esteemed journalist in the MMA community.
Willis runs Conor McGregor‘s YouTube channel The Mac Life and has previously participated in ‘The Notorious” bare-knuckle boxing promotion.
Willis’ initial question got the loudest pop of the night, but there was still more to come.
“Was that for me?” White responded, before Willis asserted: “Do you want to see the winner fight Tom?”
You could’ve heard a pin drop inside MSG as the crowd hushed and awaited a response from White.
“The winner should absolutely fight Tom,” White passionately said, as the New York crowd, who had probably been eagerly waiting for the question, absolutely erupted.
Jones, who has just one professional MMA loss in his career, responded by saying ‘knock it off’ to the fans in attendance and Miocic was left looking shook too.
Jones ‘ducking’ Aspinall has been the conversation on the tip of every MMA fans tongue in the buildup to UFC 309.
Last week, Jones said he would ‘more than likely not’ fight Aspinall, should he get past Miocic, as the Manchester native ‘hasn’t proven anything.’
He walked out of an interview with talkSPORT’s Adam Catterall on Thursday, who was set up with TNT Sports at the time, claiming that the questioning was ‘going to be an Aspinall fest’.
‘Bones’ has also been persistent with fans on social media that he doesn’t need to fight the Englishman.
He told fans he’s in a ‘legends only league’ currently, when revealing he would only fight Alex Pereira in the UFC’s current roster.
Jones has also reiterated that he would be happy to relinquish the heavyweight title in order to get the legacy fight with Pereira.
“If the bosses don’t want the Alex Pereira fight to happen, then I’ll just move on with my life,” he told UFC 309 media on Wednesday, while also calling Aspinall an ‘a**hole.’
“You can either lose me, or get one more super fight…and that’s with Alex Pereira,” he added.
UFC 309’s main card is set to begin at 3am GMT for UK fans in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The early prelims, that feature Wales’ Elliot, will start around 11 pm, with the prelims beginning around 1 am.
