Interim UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall finally returns to the octagon to defend his title against ranked #4 heavyweight contender, Curtis Blaydes, in a rematch for the title at UFC 304’s co-main event. The fight takes place on July 27th in Manchester, England, marking the promotion’s second return to the city since its initial run in 2016.

Since becoming the interim UFC heavyweight champion in September 2023 by defeating Sergei Pavlovich, Tom Aspinall has repeatedly called out Jon Jones, although this matchup has yet to materialize. Meanwhile, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has emerged as a prominent figure in the UFC. He has hinted at a move to the heavyweight division, signaling his intention to challenge top contenders such as Jon Jones and Aspinall.

This was a topic of discussion in a recent interview Tom Aspinall had with a reporter from Prime Casino. The reporter asked Aspinall about his thoughts on a potential fight with Alex Pereira and how he felt about fights moving weight classes. The 31-year-old claimed that Pereira was an elite athlete, appreciable in comparison to other athletes.

“I am incredibly inspired by him,” Aspinall said, appreciating the achievement that Pereira has accomplished in a short time. “Stick me in a cage, stick a pair of gloves on him, stick a pair of gloves on me and there’s nowhere else in the world I would rather be. That’s what I want to do, so I think it is pretty obvious that elite fighters like me and him love this stuff,” the Englishman further added.

In another interview before this one, Tom Aspinall had expressed his desire to fight Alex Pereira. Let’s delve deeper into what he exactly said.

Tom Aspinall offers Pereira a chance to become a three-division champion

After successfully defending his UFC light heavyweight title for the second time against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, Alex Pereira is aiming to become a three-division champion in the promotion. He first expressed interest in moving up the heavyweight division at the time of UFC 300. Aspinall wouldn’t mind Pereira moving up.

In a recent interview with Talk Sport, Aspinall discussed Alex Pereira’s potential move up to the heavyweight class in the future and stated, “I’m not shying away from anybody, so if the UFC wants to do that, I’m more than happy to do it. But I think as an elite-level fighter myself, you can’t help but be impressed with what Alex Pereira has done over the past couple of years.”

Aspinall, however, left everything to be decided by the UFC. Now, the question for the fans: Whom do you want to see fight Alex Pereira in the heavyweight division: Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall? Let us know in the comments!