Tom Aspinall is disappointed in the division he rules over.
The UFC interim heavyweight champion—and No. 1 heavyweight overall in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings—kept a keen eye on UFC Saudi Arabia, which featured three heavyweight bouts, two of which were light on action.
While a preliminary snoozer between Hamdy Abdelwahab and Jamal Pogues is likely to be forgotten outside of a possible scoring controversy, Aspinall was particularly galled by the main card bout between top-10 contenders Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Pavlovich snapped a two-fight losing streak with a workmanlike decision over Rozenstruik, a result that did little to spark Aspinall’s imagination.
Aspinall took to social media following the fight to criticize the state of the division.
“These heavyweight fights lately absolutely stink,” Aspinall wrote. “Let’s get some excitement back and stop holding it up.”
See Aspinall’s Instagram Stories post below, courtesy of Championship Rounds.
Tom Aspinall reacts to Sergei Pavlovich’s win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 1, 2025
“These heavyweight fights lately absolutely stink. Let’s get some excitement back and stop holding it up.”
(via. @AspinallMMA) #UFCSaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/oFHNEHDfGo
Aspinall didn’t state exactly what changes he’d like to see, but it doesn’t take much to infer that he is continuing to push for a unification bout with champion Jon Jones. The two have been in a deadlock when it comes to competing for their titles, with Aspinall making it clear he’d love to test himself against Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, and Jones repeatedly dismissing Aspinall as an opponent despite the British star’s interim champion status.
Jones has mentioned that he’d prefer a cross-division matchup with current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. However, that bout will have to wait, as Pereira defends his title against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 on March 8.