Tom Aspinall has options after the UFC pension of Jon Jones.
The undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion from Saturday, Aspinall promises to become an active defending champion after Jones had announced his official pension.
UFC CEO Dana White said he did everything he could do to make the super fight happen, claiming that Jones changed his mind.
After a waiting time of almost 600 days on Jones, Aspinall will set his sights on another opponent.
But who will be Tom Aspinall's first defense, now that he is the undisputed champion?
Here are three likely opponents for the British knockout artist who wants to be the greatest heavyweight of all time.
Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images
Cirylgane
Ciryl Gane is a superstar in France and is 10-2 in the UFC with its only losses in the UFC that comes to Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.
The high-level striker comes back-to-back victories over Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov.
Gane vs. Aspinall has been highly discussed in recent years.
Aspinall claimed that Gane rejected an interim title fight on UFC 304 last summer because he wanted to act in a film instead.
Alexander Volkov
Perhaps overlooked in the heavyweight title photo, Alexander Volkov definitely has a case for a UFC title fight, even after a loss.
In his last 10 fights, Volkov only lost from Aspinall and Gane. The Eternal Competer achieves victories on Sergei Pavlovich, Tai Tuivasa, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum and more.
Volkov comes from a controversial division decision loss for Gane on UFC 310 last December in a UFC boss Dana White boss thought the Russian had won.
Six UFC hunters received title shots of losses in 2020. Don't be surprised if Volkov gets one in 2025.
Jailton Almeida
Someone who has been calling for a fight with Tom Aspinall in recent months is Jilton Almeida.
The Brazilian competition is at #6 in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. Almeida is 8-1 in the UFC with its only loss that comes for interim title Challenger Curtis Blaydes on UFC 299 in March 2024 via TKO on the second round.
Almeida has since returned with two consecutive finishes about Alexandr Romanov and Serghei Spivac.
✅ Aspinall
❌Gane (2 titleshot failed + last battle robbery)
❌volkov (already fought tom + last fight loss)
❌pavlovich (booked + already fought tom)
❌blaydes (already fought tom)
✅ Almeida (come more than 2 wins, 2 finish, 1 bonus) @danawhite @ufc @mickmoynard2
– Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@malhadinho_ufc) 22 June 2025
View tweet
Almeida is known for its struggle and Curtis Blaydes brought down nine times in the opening round of their fight last year. Blaydes has only been removed four times in his 19 other UFC fights.
Although he is not the greatest name of the division, Almeida could stylistically be one of the largest title threats in Aspinall.