The biggest and the baddest division of the UFC has lived up to its name for quite a while now. Leading this pack, however, isn’t the UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones; it’s a British sensation, a heavyweight fighter so balanced and precise that it’s surreal. Of course, we’re talking about Tom Aspinall. Hailing from Salford, Aspinall has taken over the UFC fanbase with a storm as the biggest challenger for Jones yet. And we’re not counting Jones out yet. It’s just we think Aspinall represents the new meta of UFC heavyweights.

Of course, when one thinks of Tom Aspinall, Jon Jones immediately comes to mind. Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, you know how Jones has been denying Aspinall a shot at unifying the titles, even having the Englishman defend his interim title. Imagine that. ‘Bones’ also expressed that he’s willing to fight the interim champ if the numbers on the table were big enough. All this many fans to believe that Jones doesn’t want that Aspinall smoke. And why would he? Aspinall is one of the hardest hitters in the heavyweight division, with the speed of a welterweight, and the technique of a bantamweight.

So when a new video dropped of Tom Aspinall training leg kicks, fans couldn’t help but evoke the name of the heavyweight champion. In the Instagram video, the Englishman is seen practicing the question-mark kick. The last time the interim heavyweight champion threw a kick, he ended up dislocating his knee against Curtis Blaydes. This time, however, the fight community couldn’t contain their excitement, imagining what a kick from the Englishman could do, given that his punches already pack a lot of power.

So how did fans react? In exactly the way you’d think they would. Some had praises, stating that Aspinall would handily beat Jones and calling for that fight to be made. Others criticized the Englishman, claiming Jones would get the better of him. Let’s take a closer look.

“Please don’t teach tom flying kicks”- Fans react to Tom Aspinall’s training video

“I’ve seen enough, give this Tom Aspinall guy Jon Jones”, wrote a fan ready to throw their money at this matchup. But on the contrary, many spoke in favor of the heavyweight champion, claiming that he’d easily best the interim champ. One fan said, “Jones round 1”, while another wrote, “Yall lied talking about tom athletic his leg didn’t even wanna raise”. A fan of Jones even tagged the UFC HW champ and wrote: “@jonnybones 😂😂😂😂 champ look at this”. Jones, of course, has devastating kicks. Have you seen those oblique kicks? And what about the head kick to Daniel Cormier that led to Jones finishing him at 214?

But then, of course, there were the Tom Aspinall fans who boldly claimed he would mop the floor with the heavyweight champion. One fan wrote, “Tom with flashy kicks is the scariest mma fighter that’s ever lived. Could you imagine Tom Aspinall with a wheel kick in his locker 😮”. Another commented, “Tom is dangerous enough we don’t need him doing spine g flying kicks 💀” Imagine that—Tom Aspinall kicking Jon Jones into the shadow realm.

But as usual, fans have been going back and forth, but there still hasn’t been an update from the UFC higher-ups on this matchup. Feels a bit like Rockstar Games and their upcoming GTA VI title. Will it ever come out? Similarly, will Jones and Aspinall (ever) fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.