Tom Aspinall has big plans for the heavyweight division now that he is the undisputed champion.
Aspinall has acknowledged that the division is currently missing depth, which means that there are not many new and exciting matchups.
However, he hopes that he can help this to change this by being an active champion, which has been missing heavyweight for some time.
Aspinall has already claimed that he has a date and opponent is protected, so that he can finally continue talking about a fight with Jon Jones.
Jones may have recently shot recently on a return after returning the test pool of the UFC, but there is finally a movement at the top of the weight class now 'bones' the belt no longer holds.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Alexander Volkov vs Jilton Almeida agreed verbally for UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi
When Tom Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champion, there were three important contenders in the mix as potential challengers for him to cope with.
Many expected Ciryl Gane to be the number one choice, even if his victory over Alexander Volkov was controversial in December.
Gane's position as the next in line was apparently confirmed by an update by Jilton Almeida with regard to a fight between him and Volkov.
MMA fights have now reported that this matchup was verbally agreed, although contracts have not been signed for UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on October 25.
Given the current statuses of both men in the division, it seems likely that this will be a title -eliminator with the winner confronted with the winner of Aspinall vs, if this will eventually be the next heavyweight title fight.
Almeida is currently running on a win with two fights, while Volkov will look to bounce back from his loss from December to Gane, which broke a four-fighting bed of impressive victories.
A UFC analyst argued for Tom Aspinall against another opponent
Last weekend in Nashville, a favorite heavyweight of the fan was also spoken with regard to the heavyweight title photo.
Derrick Lewis may not have defeated a top candidate during his current Win streak, but 'The Black Beast' always generates the interest of fans.
Former UFC hunter Alan Jouban referred to the post show when he spoke about where Lewis' first round knockout of Tallison Teixeira places him in the division.
“Lewis probably has a greater name value than a Ciryl Gane, who is probably the man that we think would then fight against Tom Aspinall, but Ciryl Gane, the name value is not entirely … After an achievement like this, Staked while the iron is called.”