Tom Aspinall claimed the interim UFC heavyweight title on Saturday night, knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round in New York City.
The main event of UFC 295 was due to see Jon Jones defend the heavyweight title against divisional great Stipe Miocic, but that bout was cancelled on two weeks’ notice after Jones suffered an injury in training.
With Jones, 36, set to face eight months on the sidelines, the UFC pitted Aspinall against Pavlovich to crown an interim champion, and it was the Briton who triumphed at Madison Square Garden.
Aspinall, who admitted to being “scared” ahead of his fight with the Russian, caught Pavlovich with two clean right hands in the first round, wobbling him with the first and dropping him with the second.
The Wigan fighter, 30, followed up with a hammer fist to the downed Pavlovich, sealing the knockout to become the third British champion in UFC history.
“I can’t even tell you, it’s been a crazy two-and-a-half weeks. If you ever get the chance to do something, and you’re scared to do it, you should definitely f***ing do it,” Aspinall said, having fought through a bout of tears.
“I’ve never been as scared in my life as fighting this guy, but I believe in myself.”
An emotional Tom Aspinall reacts to his UFC interim title win
(Getty Images)
In 2016, Michael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold to win the middleweight belt on short notice, and in 2022, Leon Edwards won the welterweight title with a knockout of Kamaru Usman.
It is as yet unclear whether Aspinall will fight Jones next, or whether the UFC will rebook Jones versus 41-year-old Miocic. In that case, Aspinall would potentially have to defend the interim belt in the meantime. However, there is also a belief that Aspinall could be elevated to regular champion in Jones’s absence.
Aspinall vs Pavlovich in fact served as the co-main event of UFC 295, while the original co-main event was elevated and saw Alex Pereira beat Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light-heavyweight title.
Pereira, a former middleweight champion, became the ninth two-weight champion in UFC history by securing a TKO in Round 2.
Prochazka was fighting for the first time since vacating the light-heavyweight title due to injury last year.
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