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Is Tom Aspinall feeling the pressure ahead of his first-ever undisputed heavyweight title defense?
After being promoted from interim to undisputed champion earlier this year following Jon Jones’ “retirement” from the sport, Aspinall is set to put his gold on the line against perennial contender Ciryl Gane this Saturday night at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
Mere hours away from fight night, Aspinall sits as a massive -375 favorite. That, on top of a very public rivalry with Jon Jones and being touted by many as the best heavyweight on the planet, Aspinall could be feeling some serious pressure when he steps inside the Octagon in Abu Dhabi.
“Forget any pressure put on him by Michael Bisping calling him the greatest British mixed martial artist of all time—Tom Aspinall is in one of the biggest pressure spots in UFC history,” play-by-play man Jon Anik told MMA Fighting. The whole Jon Jones storyline amplified it. He’s the face of the division now, he’s elite, and he’s a 4-to-1 favorite in the most unpredictable sport there is. If he loses, it’s seismic. But Tom eats pressure like a sandwich.”
Before getting promoted from interim to undisputed, Aspinall was expected to face Jones in 2025 after ‘Bones’ finally settled his business with consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic in November. Unfortunately, the fight would never come to fruition. Jones ultimately opted to walk away from the promotion, vacating his belt and leaving Aspinall to take the heavyweight throne uncontested.
Hoping to end Aspinall’s reign before it gets started is Gane, a former interim champion in his own right.
Bon Gamin’ has already had two cracks at the undisputed belt, coming up short against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. Will the third time be the charm for Gane, or will Aspinall notch his biggest win yet and show the world that the hype is real?
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