Aspinall aiming to stay on top after long road to UFC summit

England's Tom Aspinall enters UFC 321 on Saturday as a big favourite to retain the heavyweight title, and if he beats French challenger Ciryl Gane, it will be the first time he exits the cage with the undisputed belt around his waist. 

The 32-year-old ascended to the top of the division in unusual circumstances, capturing and defending the interim UFC heavyweight title before being elevated to undisputed champion following American incumbent Jon Jones' abrupt retirement in June.

"It doesn't really bother me too much - I already felt like the champion anyway," Aspinall told Reuters of his rise to the summit before describing his ideal fight against Gane in Abu Dhabi.

"If I had the option, if you're going to ask me what will my ideal fight be, it would be me not being hit at all, hitting the other guy, and the referee pulling me off."

Widely considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, Jones retired without facing Aspinall. With many of the division's top contenders already defeated by the English fighter, the path appears clear for a long reign.

However, Aspinall acknowledged the unpredictability of the heavyweight class, where title reigns can end abruptly due to the power of opponents.

"Especially for heavyweights, it's a lot easier to knock someone out at 240, 250, 260 pounds than it is at 145 pounds, for example, so, yeah, it's definitely a lot harder (to remain champion)," he explained. 

"The idea is at heavyweight, it's pretty simple rules - try not to let him hit you, try not to let him get on top of you. They're the two golden rules at heavyweight." 

PROTOTYPE HEAVYWEIGHT

Having developed his fighting style with his coach and father Andy, Aspinall is regarded as a prototype modern UFC heavyweight.

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