"You've done your country proud" - John Fury sends Tom Aspinall a message ahead of short-notice Sergei Pavlovich fight
Tom Aspinall announced his plan to become a UFC champion after his win over Marcin Tybura in July, but it seems his intended journey may have found a shortcut.
Dana White announced on Tuesday morning that heavyweight champion Jon Jones had pulled out of the UFC 295 main event due to injury, so another interim champion will be crowned. For the second pay-per-view main event in a row, an unexpected title challenger will be stepping in on less than a month's notice as Aspinall will be facing number 2-ranked heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich.
Much like Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294, Aspinall is receiving a lot of praise for accepting the fight and saving the card on very short notice. Of those admiring Aspinall's decision is fellow countryman John Fury, the father of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
In a video posted by The Mac Life journalist Oscar Willis on Twitter, John Fury sends a short but encouraging message to Tom Aspinall, letting him know he believes he will win the belt.
Check out John Fury's message for Tom Aspinall below:
Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich preview
Tom Aspinall answered a lot of questions over the summer when he returned from a year-long layoff due to a torn MCL suffered in a highly anticipated fight against Curtis Blaydes. The injury resulted in Aspinall's first professional loss in six years, and he looked better than ever in his TKO victory over Marcin Tybura in July.
While Aspinall recovered from his knee injury, Sergei Pavlovich put together three straight first-round knockout victories. His recent surge has fans excited for his potential, with some already calling him the best heavyweight in the world.
While fans have been clamoring to see this matchup for a while, many do not realize Aspinall and Pavlovich were actually booked to fight previously in 2021. It certainly would have been an intriguing fight at the time, but the timing of these two fighters finally crossing paths could not have been better.