UFC champion Tom Aspinall's verdict on fighting Tyson Fury and boxing debut

UFC interim world heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has revealed he has no interest in fighting Tyson Fury but a move into boxing could be on the cards later down the line.

Aspinall shocked the MMA world in November when he defeated the much-fancied Sergei Pavlovich at Madison Square Garden. The victory saw the 30-year-old become Britain's first world heavyweight champion in UFC.

The Atherton-born fighter has had quite the 2023 in both UFC and further afield. In September, Aspinall joined Fury's camp as his sparring partner ahead of the WBC champion's narrow victory over Francis Ngannou.

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During the camp, Fury told reporters Aspinall could have become a pro boxer if he had chosen that camp. However, speaking to MEN Sport, the new heavyweight champion insists he has no interest in fighting his friend in a professional bout.

"Oh I have no particular interest [in fighting Tyson]," he explained. "I am heavyweight champion at the moment but I am nowhere near satisfied.

"I have way, way more work to do in the UFC and I want to do that first. I always take it one fight at a time. I don’t know what my next fight is or when it is yet but when I get news on that, I won’t think any further on than that. That is the way my mind works and I don’t think beyond stuff.

"I will probably like to do it (boxing) before my career is over, while I am still young and healthy. If I don’t, I am happy just fighting in the UFC for the rest of my career. There is some big fish to fry in the UFC so I will be focusing on that before I do any of that other stuff."