Tom Aspinall felt that he was in the fight of his life when he stepped in the Octagon for his UFC 304 interim heavyweight championship co-main event against Curtis Blaydes.
The Brit is two years removed from his devastating MCL tear the first time he faced "Razor" in England, and it was his first fight since winning the interim belt at New York's Madison Square Garden last November.
And despite a day that he described as the longest of his life, with nerves going throughout his body, Aspinall got the job done in just 60 seconds, finishing Blaydes to retain the championship.
Though Aspinall told Megan Olivi of ESPN MMA that it felt like a homecoming redemption moment after all he's been through, he made sure to give a ton of respect to Blaydes.
Curtis is a great wrestler, but he's also got great hands. He's a great MMA fighter," Aspinall said. "The guy's been in the top five since before I was in the UFC. He's a veteran. There is a lot of emphasis on his wrestling because not a lot of guys in the heavyweight division can wrestle well, but he's an MMA fighter, so I was expecting everything.
I've got a lot of respect for Curtis, and I want to get in and out as quick as possible without anyone getting hurt. That's my plan. I hope Curtis is OK.
'You Can't Leave Me Out' - Tom Aspinall Awaits Jon Jones Or Stipe Miocic To Unify Heavyweight Championship
Following the win, Aspinall had a callout of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones — a fight that many have been clamoring to see over Jones vs. Stipe Miocic. The interim champ commented about having a conversation with UFC CEO Dana White, implying the chance that plans could change.
White, however, stated at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference that the plan is still to go with Jones vs. Miocic. However, he appeared to insinuate that Aspinall will be assigned as the backup fighter in case Jones vs. Miocic falls through again.
Aspinall told Olivi that the plan is to fight the winner of Jones vs. Miocic, but he urged "Bones" to hand the belt over if he doesn't want the fight.
I'll wait...that's one worth waiting for," Aspinall said. "If Jon Jones doesn't want to do it, OK. Just hand me over the title. I'll take it, no problem. But that's the fight I want. It's the right fight to do. I understand that's a huge fight for the UFC and the company — Stipe vs. Jon Jones. But, c'mon, you can't leave me out.
Jones vs. Miocic was scheduled to headline UFC 295 last November before Jones tore his pec, which led to the fight where Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich to become interim champion.
Jones defeated Ciryl Gane to win the then-vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 following Francis Ngannou's departure from the promotion. Miocic, meanwhile, has not fought since dropping the heavyweight title to Ngannou at UFC 260.
Rumors, reports, and even Jones himself have stated the plan is for Jones vs. Miocic to headline a Madison Square Garden PPV card in November. Those event plans, however, have not been confirmed by the UFC and have been left murky with a concert series taking place at the venue during UFC 309's original target date of November 9.