UFC heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall has named Sergei Pavlovich as the ideal opponent when it comes to his next fight.
Aspinall made a triumphant return to the UFC in July after a year long injury layoff with a knockout win over Marcin Tybura in London, and now he wants to keep pushing towards a heavyweight title shot.
The British fighter was cageside for Ciryl Gane's win over Sergey Spivak at UFC Paris on Saturday night and spoke to Eurosport about his future plans.
"Sergei Pavlovich – very easy question – very, very easy question,” Aspinall responded when asked about who he would like to face next.
“I want what he’s got. I want to be the number one contender.”
However, Aspinall's wish to face Pavlovich may not materialise straightaway. This is due to the 31-year-old being used as the backup fighter for the main event of UFC 295 when Jon Jones makes the first defence of the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in November.
Therefore it's unlikely that Pavlovich will want to risk his fitness and number one ranking if the call came to feature in a UFC event at the historic Madison Square Garden.