Tom Aspinall will have a growing line of contenders awaiting a chance to challenge him in his first undisputed title defense.
The top tier of the UFC heavyweight division had been stuck in limbo for the past two years, with the promotion holding out hope for a long-awaited title unification clash between reigning champion Jon Jones and interim titleholder Aspinall. On paper, it had all the makings of a historic showdown. But the bout never came to fruition, as “Bones” repeatedly dismissed the matchup, arguing that a win over Aspinall wouldn’t meaningfully elevate his already legendary résumé.
However, this past Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Jones has officially opted to retire from active competition. Consequently, Aspinall has now taken over as the undisputed heavyweight king. White added that the promotion will begin working with the Brit next week to book his first title defense.
Loading tweet...
Tom Aspinall will soon look to defend his undisputed title, but identifying the most deserving challenger in the division’s chaotic landscape won’t be easy.
Jailton Almeida Puts His Name In The Hat To Face Tom Aspinall Next
Following the announcement of Tom Aspinall’s elevation to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Jailton Almeida took to X to declare himself the rightful top contender for the Brit’s first title defense.
In his post, "Malhadinho" pitched himself as the most deserving contender and dismissed Ciryl Gane as unworthy of a title shot against Aspinall. He pointed out that the Frenchman had already fallen short in two previous championship bouts and argued that his recent win over Alexander Volkov was far from convincing.
"Congrats champ. You deserve that.Now, let’s make the only fight that makes sense — Aspinall vs. Almeida for the undisputed heavyweight title of the world. Gane ducked you and me before, already fought for the belt and lost twice, and his last win was a robbery," Jailton Almeida wrote on X.
Loading tweet...
The 33-year-old Brazilian went a step further, listing fellow top contenders like Sergei Pavlovich, Curtis Blaydes, and Volkov while pointing out that nearly all of them have already faced Tom Aspinall and failed to get the job done.
Loading tweet...
Almeida is riding the momentum of a two-fight win streak, with his most recent outing being a first-round knockout of Serghei Spivac at UFC 311 this past January. Before that, "Malhadinho" had compiled an impressive six-fight run in the Octagon, which was snapped by a TKO loss to Blaydes at UFC 299 in March 2024.
