Pereira or Gane? Who will Aspinall fight next?
"I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him."Tom Aspinall's prediction from 10 months ago resurfaced on Sunday as it was announced Jon Jones had retired from MMA.The UFC elevated Aspinall to full champion but a question mark remains over who the Mancunian will face in his first defence.There are several contenders, including the left-field option of former light-heavyweight and middleweight champion Alex Pereira.BBC Sport looks at the options.
Ciryl Gane (13-2)
France's Ciryl Gane is the leading contender. The 35-year-old will soon be confirmed as the number one challenger once the rankings are updated.With two unsuccessful world title tilts already under his belt, Gane is one of the best fighters in the division. But Gane was far from convincing in his last outing against fellow top contender Alexander Volkov and the UFC may prefer a more exciting option.The UFC goes to Paris in September but his compatriot Nassourdine Imavov is set to headline, which could be a hint Dana White has other plans for Gane.
Alex Pereira (12-3)
This is the dark-horse option. Pereira has repeatedly said he would be interested in a title shot at heavyweight.Talk of a potential match-up has cooled since Pereira lost the light-heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev in March, but the Brazilian remains a very interesting option for Aspinall.Pereira is a two-weight world champion and it does not appear an immediate rematch with Ankalaev is on the cards. He is also, along with Aspinall, one of the UFC's few standout stars and a super-fight between the pair could be huge and help fans quickly forget the disappointment of Jones' retirement.
Jailton Almeida (22-3)
Jailton Almeida is number six in the current rankings and we skip down to him because Aspinall had recent wins over Sergei Pavlovich (third) and Curtis Blaydes (fourth).The Brazilian has just one loss since 2018 and that was to American Blaydes.Almeida bounced back from that with back-to-back stoppage wins over Alexander Romanov last June and then Serghei Spivac in January.He would be a tricky opponent for Aspinall given his impressive submission abilities. Of his 21 finishes, 13 of them have been by submission.
Alexander Volkov (38-11)
Like Almeida, Russia's Volkov was mentioned by Aspinall in a recent training post, leading to speculation both men are being considered.Volkov was swept aside by Aspinall in 2022, but has been on an excellent run since with victories over Tai Tuivasa, Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.He did lose his last fight to Gane, but was furious with the scorecards. With 24 knockouts in 38 wins, Volkov would be an attractive prospect if Aspinall or the UFC were angling for a slug fest for his first defence.
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