Tom Aspinall probably won’t fight Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

It will either take heavyweight champion Jon Jones or the challenger Stipe Miocic falling out of the fight on Friday or Saturday – these things happen in MMA – but even the Englishman serving as a backup fighter this weekend knows how improbable that is.

That didn’t stop fans at Thursday night’s UFC 309 press conference from roaring approval at UFC CEO Dana White’s decree: “The winner absolutely has to fight Tom.”

This reaction, which was immediately followed by a loud “Tommy” chant – and capped by Jones playfully telling the masses at the Theater at MSG to “stop” – is a testament to how much Aspinall has endeared himself to fans of the UFC in the 12 months since he won the interim heavyweight title at the Garden, especially last week as Jones sought to justify why he had no interest in a title unification with Aspinall.

“I’m very lucky because a lot of people see what happened and what’s happening and realize it, which is good,” Aspinall told the Post during a visit to his video studio , a few hours before the adulation on his behalf. — for which he was not on stage to receive. “I don’t really need to do much. I don’t need to come here and do a big song and dance about all this because my name is already being talked about so much by the media and the fans and all that. It’s cool. It’s nice.

Two things have become clear since Aspinall (15-3, 15 finishes) knocked out Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim title – created when Jones tore a pectoral muscle last fall, less than two weeks before his initial clash with Miocic:

1. Aspinall did everything he could to attract Jones’ attention and attempt to become the undisputed champion.
2. More than facing Jones, Aspinall’s true desire is uncontested status, however that may be achieved.

If that means going through Jones and testing himself against the legendary light heavyweight, who moved up to heavyweight and won the title in March 2023 that Francis Ngannou vacated when he entered free agency, then it’s all good for him.

If undisputed status comes through the Jones-Miocic winner relinquishing the title, that works too.

“I would like to fight Jon Jones for (the undisputed title). That would be pretty cool,” Aspinal reiterates. “But if that doesn’t happen, I don’t mind. Like I said, Jon Jones is not my focus. My goal is the undisputed heavyweight title. For me, the rest doesn’t matter at this point. »

Despite his imposing figure in a room — at 6-foot-5 and, he says, 260 pounds this week — Aspinall is a great guy.

Over the past year, we’ve been trying to get a unification fight with Jones – with a break in the middle to pull off the first successful defense of a UFC interim title in a decade, avenging his only loss at the UFC with a first-round knockout of Curtis Blaydes in July – Aspinall has littered his social media platforms with more brazen attempts to goad the GOAT than throwing mud and projecting threat.

In the spring, Aspinall hoped to take a photo with Jones in the typical confrontation pose, the other champion refusing to play ball.

Aspinall has created cheeky content, such as the comical search for “Jones” in a gym or swimming pool.

All that was done in Jones’ recent assessment at the Post was to be called “boring” and, while speaking to reporters at Wednesday’s media day, Jones said : “Tom has been such an asshole that I don’t want to do business with him.

Still, Aspinall says he wouldn’t change a thing.

“I’m just trying to fight for the undisputed title,” reaffirms the cheerful Aspinall. “Like I said, this isn’t meant for Jon but just to have a little fun along the way.” That’s just my kind of personality, anyway. But Jon, you know, takes it very personally, but it’s just a little bit of fun.

Aspinall is simply in New York doing whatever business the UFC needs, whether that’s just weighing in and enjoying the show or jumping in with little preparation time to take on either the biggest heavyweight light heavyweight in the UFC, its greatest heavyweight.

The interim champion, who has kept a light schedule of media appearances this week, maintains he’s not trying to steal the spotlight from the UFC 309 headliners.

“This is definitely not my fight week. I’m here to step in if the UFC needs me,” says Aspinall. “It’s not my week, so it’s not really my choice to promote my name and all that. Other people just do this for me.

Ultimately, Aspinall is more interested in letting the moment come and go.

Let Jones and Miocic settle the matters they intended to settle last November.

The 31-year-old will be waiting on the other side, relieved to get back to business and, he hopes, finally challenge for the undisputed crown.

“Once it’s done, it’s done,” says Aspinall, who hopes to compete again as soon as March or April against whoever the UFC wants to put in front of him, “and I just can’t wait for this fight to be over “Everything will be clear in a few days and we will all move forward.”

“And I don’t know what that looks like.” No one knows what that looks like at the moment. You never, ever, never know in MMA, especially at heavyweight. So for now, we’re just waiting.