“Sneak our way in”: Jon Jones’ protege reacts to Tom Aspinall vacating UFC heavyweight title
Jon Jones’ protege has reacted to Tom Aspinall vacating the UFC heavyweight title, calling the situation an opportunity for rising contenders.
Tom Aspinall sends a shockwave in the MMA world as he officially announced that he has vacated his UFC heavyweight belt, as he remains medically unfit to fight because of his ongoing eye injuries.
Now Jon Jones’ protege, Gable Stevenson, has shared his reaction, wishing the Brit a speedy recovery before explaining how the vacant title could create opportunities for him and other heavyweights.
Gable Steveson sends message to Tom Aspinall and highlights title opportunity
Stevenson, speaking to Caroline Pearce of ‘TNT Sports’, reacted to Aspinall vacating the UFC heavyweight belt. He sent his best wishes to the Brit and hoped for a quick recovery.
“I feel for Tom, you know, I hope the recovery is going well, and as he posted, it seems like it's really not. So, you know, prayers to him and his family, and make sure he can get back on his feet in the best way possible.”
However, Steveson further explained how that situation could favor the UFC heavyweight contenders. He recognized that Aspinall’s situation is unfortunate, but believes the title vacancy could open the door for fighters like himself to make a faster climb toward UFC gold.
“But I think this is a great opportunity for a lot of young guys like myself and a few others that are in the heavyweight division to kind of sneak our way in and work hard and get to where we need to go in a faster transition. So, sorry to him for these complications, but I feel like it's a good thing for us,” Steveson added.
Check out Gable Steveson’s comments below:
As for Steveson, he made his UFC debut at UFC 329, where he was cornered by Jones and secured an impressive first-round knockout victory over Elisha Ellison. He is now set to fight at UFC 331 this weekend against Sean Sharaf.
Tom Aspinall’s UFC heavyweight title journey
Aspinall was the interim champion while Jones held the undisputed title. Unification talks were underway, but Jones decided to vacate the title, and the Brit was elevated to undisputed heavyweight champion.
After that, in his first title defense as UFC undisputed heavyweight champion, Aspinall suffered a career-altering eye injury against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 this past October. He was eye-poked in the late first round and was unable to continue, and the bout was declared a no-contest. He has been out of action since.
The Brit shared that he was in talks with the UFC about a comeback and was training when he suffered further damage to his right eye, which has kept him medically unfit to fight for an uncertain period of time.
Now that Aspinall has vacated the title, Gane, who secured the interim heavyweight title by knocking out Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250, is likely to be elevated to undisputed champion.
