Salford born mixed-martial artist Tom Aspinall has finally been given an opportunity to become the mandatory challenger in the UFC heavyweight division.

The opportunity comes after the scheduled main event at UFC 295 had to be cancelled as the current heavyweight world champion and arguably the greatest of all time in the sport, Jon Jones had to pull out.

Jon will miss eight months due to a pectoral muscle injury and will be unable to fight his against Stipe Miocic.

Aspinall hasn’t fought since July when he knocked out Marcin Tybura just over a minute into the first round, taking his professional record in the UFC to 13-3. 10 of those 13 victories came by knockout, the other three by submission.

Taken from TnT Sports YouTube
Image of Aspinall’s opponent, Sergei Pavlovich (taken from TnT sports YouTube channel)

His opponent, Sergei Pavlovich, is a dangerous Russian fighter whose powerful striking and record make him no pushover. Sergei is undoubtedly the hardest test of his professional career so far and his six fight win streak means he comes into the bout full of confidence.

With Pavlovich’s 18 wins and one loss, 15 of those wins coming by knockout, Aspinall will have to be sharper than ever on November 12 as he steps out to a packed Maddison Square Garden in New York.

Aspinall himself has never seen the third round of a UFC fight; pair this with Pavlovich’s ruthless knockout resume, fans can definitely expect fireworks and it is unlikely the bout will go the distance.

With a shot of a potential title fight against the winner of the rescheduled Miocic, Jones bout Tom Aspinall will be desperate to finally show UFC fans his power and bring the belts home to Salford.

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