Tom Aspinall isn't making any plans to emulate some of his MMA counterparts by stepping into the boxing ring, but he hasn't completely ruled it out either.
The interim UFC heavyweight champion is just four months removed from defeating Sergei Pavlovich to claim the belt, and he says he has a lot yet to prove in the world of mixed martial arts.
However, Aspinall could be swayed by a big enough paycheque to put on the boxing gloves and face WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, just like former UFC heavyweight ruler Francis Ngannou did last year.
"If there’s money to be made then I would do it but right now my goal is to be the best UFC heavyweight champion of all time and I have at least five fights left with the UFC," Aspinall told Nordic Bet. "But I also want to finish my career in the UFC. Never say never but I have a lot more work to do in the UFC."
Another possibility is Fury crossing over to MMA, which Aspinall thinks the undefeated boxer could do fairly well. That being said, the 30-year-old doesn't give Fury or any other boxer much of a chance against himself in an MMA cage due to the vast difference in experience at the highest levels.
"Tyson and I have trained MMA together before as well and he’s a good, big strong guy who knows how to fight," Aspinall said. "It wouldn’t take him too long to pick up the grappling side of stuff but against somebody like me who has been grappling [competitiively] since they were 18 years old, it’s going to take some catching up to do. If we’re going to have an MMA fight, it’s obvious that I am going to have the grappling advantage because I’ve been grappling for 23 years, and he’s not been grappling yet and that would be a massive advantage on my part.
"[It would take years] to get used to grappling but to compete with grappling against a guy who has been grappling his whole life like me, is pretty much impossible. To be able to compete is what I am saying. To get taken down and get up off his back against someone like me who has been training and grappling his whole life is nearly impossible if being totally honest."
Live on DAZN PPV : Watch Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia on April 20