In Dan Hardy’s eyes, the only intriguing opponent for Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall sits outside of the promotion.
Aspinall continues to await news of his next assignment. Despite the division boasting two titleholders for the past 16 months, it remains unclear whether the British powerhouse and Jon Jones will meet in a unification fight.
Following Jones’ successful defense against Stipe Miocic last November, Dana White gave his backing for “Bones” to face Aspinall next. Negotiations for that coming to fruition are seemingly underway.
And according to Hardy, the UFC higher-ups better make Jones an offer he can’t refuse lest they be left with zero “legit” matchups for Aspinall.
Though many might disagree and point to a heavyweight clash with current 205-pound kingpin Alex Pereira, “The Outlaw” believes only PFL star Francis Ngannou would be adequate opposition for the Manchester native.
“Of course, Pereira could touch anybody on the chin on the planet and knock them out. But if you’re looking for a real, legit heavyweight contender for Tom, maybe I’m a broken record, but it has to be Ngannou,” Hardy said during a recent appearance on Submission Radio. “There isn’t anybody else, really. I don’t see any other fight that truly excites me. I can point at that and say, ‘That’s the heavyweight king.’ And I don’t even think I could say that if it was Jones versus Aspinall at this point, because I don’t feel like Jones is — I mean, he’s potentially number three in the heavyweight division right now, behind Ngannou and Aspinall.
“You have to admit, though, someone else in Tom Aspinall’s position might just say, ‘Hey, give me Pereira. Let’s just fight now,’ because that would bring so much money,” Hardy continued. “But he wants the tougher fight in Jon Jones, and if Francis Ngannou were around, he’d want the tougher fight in Francis Ngannou. So it’s one of those things where we should reward the guys that deserve to be rewarded.”
The topic of Pereira moving up another division has long been a prominent topic. And it’ll no doubt return to the surface should he dispatch of Magomed Ankalaev for a fourth successful light heavyweight title defense this weekend at UFC 313.
Ngannou, meanwhile, emerged victorious from his PFL debut last October. He’s expected to next return to the boxing ring.
