“He should not be the interim champion…”: MMA icon drops bold statement on Tom Aspinall’s title

Tom Aspinall has been consistently a part of the buzzing UFC world, mainly due to his never-ending effort to get inside the octagon against UFC legend Jon Jones. Retired MMA fighter and American submission grappling promoter Chael Sonnen is one of the names who pointed out a remark by Aspinall that has made the MMA icon question the credibility of the English MMA fighter for even holding the title.While buzz involving Jones and Aspinall has been at an all-time high, the recent comment by 'The American Gangster’ has further added fuel to what could be one of the biggest showdowns in the history of UFC. Being the interim UFC heavyweight champion, Aspinall is loud and clear about his next choice of opponent, but many believe that the mma fighter should not be holding the title if his choice of opponent hasn’t given in to his offer to face him off inside the octagon. While there has been no official word about Jones stepping inside the ring against Aspinall, the frustration among fans to witness this legendary showdown has increased. Chael Sonnen recently reflected light upon a remark by the reigning champion that might raise questions regarding his stubbornness to hold the title until he gets the fight that he wants, which is with UFC legend Jones. Speaking on his , Sonnen stated,“Tom is the longest-reigning interim heavyweight champion in history. I would like for Tom to be elevated to undisputed champion if, in fact, Jon is refusing to fight him.“Tom has said, ‘I will not defend the interim belt.’ Tom has gone further to say, ‘I will not fight for any belt that isn’t undisputed’, now it doesn’t have to be Jon. Tom is not saying, ‘It’s Jon Jones or bust. Give me Jon Jones, or else'.Sonnen further continued, “He’s saying, ‘I am the interim champion, I am willing to compete, which if the undisputed champion is not willing to do, I then get those duties.’“If Tom is saying, ‘I’m not going to defend my belt, we take the belt back’. I’m ok with Tom getting the undisputed belt, by the way; this isn’t like against Tom.“He should not be the interim champion. The moment he says, ‘I’m not going to defend it,’ he should not be the interim champion.” With no official confirmations regarding Aspinall’s next bout, a lot might be going on behind the curtains. As Dana White is known to deliver the best of mma magic to audiences around the globe, the possibility of this showdown is not off the table. Also Read: UFC 315 mayhem! Dana White forced to intervene as face-off between Belal Muhammad and ‘JDM’ nearly turns violent