"I'm doing a Bisping" - Tom Aspinall ready to put it all on the line against "most dangerous" Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295
UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall will take on No.2-ranked contender Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 295 on November 11 at Madison Square Garden.
The pair will step in after the pay-per-view headliner between champion Jon Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic was called off due to an injury to Jones.
Aspinall spoke about taking on a fight on short notice against an in-form Pavlovich. He compared his situation to former middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who took on then-champion Luke Rockhold on 17 days' notice at UFC 199 and went on to win via knockout in the very first round.
Aspinall said:
“I weren’t too bothered. They’re all tough fights, aren’t they? I think that Pavlovich is the most dangerous, to be honest. I think he’s the most dangerous guy in the UFC. I think, to be honest, it’s f*****g the most dangerous situation you can have. Fighting the most dangerous guy in the UFC on two weeks' notice, but I’m willing to put it all on the line, do you know what I mean? "
He added:
This is my absolute dream. I’m f*****g – I'm doing a Bisping, aren’t I? Bisping took it on two weeks' notice. Bisping did it on two weeks' notice and won against Rockhold so why can’t I do it?”
Check out Aspinall's comments below on X:
Tom Aspinall believes a matchup against Sergei Pavlovich is the "most exciting fight" in the division
A few weeks prior to Tom Aspinall's surprise matchup against Sergei Pavlovich being announced, the Brit had already expressed his keen interest in fighting the Russian.
In an interview on UFC Unfiltered, Aspinall mentioned that the bout would be the "most exciting" and also made reference to the pair's short average fight times.
“I think it’s going to be Pavlovich who I fight next, if you ask me. That’s it. That’s the ideal situation, me and Pavlovich. I think it’s the most exciting fight in the heavyweight division right now. I believe that right now I have the shortest average time in the UFC, and he has the second-shortest average time, which is wild. Stick us two in the cage and see what happens. It’s going to be absolutely insane.”
Both Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich have won all their fights in the UFC through a finish and have racked up nine Performance of the Night bonuses between them across 14 fights.
Check out Aspinall's comments below on YouTube (3:40):