"He's the most dangerous heavyweight" - Ian Garry makes U-turn on opinion about potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall clash
Ian Garry recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared his reaction to the Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich fight. It was the co-main event at UFC 295, and saw the two fight for the interim heavyweight title.
Surprisingly, Garry had "slept in" the night UFC 295 went down and so, was forced to re-watch everything when he woke up. Speaking on the Aspinall vs. Pavlovich bout, he said:
"Wow, that was so quick. Oh, yes, beautiful. I mean, can we just say, I was 15 seconds off the mark? Oh my god. I'm so happy Tom won. I said there was no way Tom Aspinall beats Jon Jones, and I sat there and I said to you, actually, I go back on that, I think Tom Aspinall is the most dangerous man in the heavyweight division at the moment. He hits too hard, he moves to quick, he's so versatile. That's the next guy."
Check out the clip here:
Given Aspinall's performance, it's not surprising to see such a reaction from another MMA fighter. Prior to the bout, many believed that Aspinall's grappling and ability to mix it up would give him the advantage over Pavlovich.
As a result, watching Aspinall essentially outstrike the Russian brawler and finish him so quickly in the first round was epic.
Jon Jones reacts to Tom Aspinall's UFC 295 win
Jon Jones also took to X and reacted to Tom Aspinall's win over Sergei Pavlovich. Jones appeared to show respect, and wrote:
"Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!"
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Aspinall insisted that he would like to face Jones next, and that the matchup with Jones was on the top of his wishlist.
Jones congratulated Aspinall on X, but did not give a response to the callout. Jones, who is currently injured, was previously set to fight at UFC 295 and defend his heavyweight belt against Stipe Miocic.
Jones suffered a pectoral injury in his preparation for the bout and so, was forced to withdraw. It is believed that the UFC will look to rebook that fight upon Jones' return, which is at least eight months away.
If that is the case, Tom Aspinall may have to wait out that fight and then face the winner to unify the heavyweight titles.