Modestas Bukauskas returns to action on Saturday at UFC 315 when he faces Ion Cutelaba and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall played a huge part in his preparation despite having no fight of his own booked at any time in the near future.
While Bukauskas and the rest of the fighters at the gym are getting ready for upcoming bouts, Aspinall is still playing the waiting game with hopes that he’ll eventually get the chance to unify the UFC heavyweight title with Jon Jones. Sadly, there’s still no word on when or if that fight is actually going to happen but Bukauskas praises Aspinall for always being there for him and the rest of the team whenever they need him.
“For him, I just want him to get this fight,” Bukauskas told MMA Fighting. “There just seems to be so much stalling and negotiating and stuff like that’s going on. Tom honestly just wants to fight. He openly says he’ll fight anyone. Obviously, the next logical step is Jon Jones but he says ‘at the end of the day, what do you want me to do?’ Obviously, it’s frustrating for him. I can imagine it’s very annoying but at the same time, he can only control what he can control. That’s what he’s doing.
“He’s in the gym everyday. He’s helping guys like me and other guys that have fights coming up. Just absolutely amazing. James Webb from our team just defended his Cage Warriors belt.”
Aspinall is approaching one year since his last appearance in the UFC when he defended his interim title with a blistering one-minute knockout win over Curtis Blaydes this past July. Just four months later, Jones defended his heavyweight title with a lopsided knockout win over Stipe Miocic but the UFC still hasn’t struck a deal to bring the two fighters together for a unification bout.
With the summertime UFC cards rapidly filling up, it appears more and more likely that Aspinall might have to wait until the fall to get his chance to face Jones.
“He’s still training every single day but I can understand from his point of view, very frustrating because when you’re training so hard and you’re putting in all this work, you want to be able to put on shows,” Bukauskas said about Aspinall. “I just really hope that it all works out and he’ll be able to fight soon.
“Because I know he’s itching to go, especially when he’s pretty much in his prime, in his peak. He wants to go out there and compete and often the question is, what’s the hold up?”
As a veteran of the light heavyweight division, Bukauskas once saw Jones as his ultimate goal as well.
Jones is the longest reigning 205-pound champion in UFC history but now he’s dedicated himself to competing at heavyweight where he currently sports a 2-0 record.
While he absolutely respects the resume that Jones has put together during his career, Bukauskas warns him that he’s going to face an entirely different kind of animal if he finally gets in there with Aspinall.
“I mean listen, Tom is unlike anything that I’ve ever trained with, that I’ve ever sparred with and I know for a fact it’s unlike anything Jon Jones has ever fought,” Bukauskas said. “When I think about Tom, I think about his speed, his athleticism, his fight IQ. It’s like all the best fighters in the world, they’re thinking of stuff on the go as they’re reacting and making little adjustments and those little adjustments are what gives them the finishing blow. His fight IQ is insane. He’s obviously mad fast and he’s extremely explosive and athletic. These are all things that are in his favor.
“Jon Jones, extremely technical, he’s got very good wrestling, great striking, good jiu-jitsu, training with some really tough guys as well. I take nothing away from him but I just feel like Tom’s got those attributes as well and he’s got youth on his side. I think he’s got an athleticism prowess that he can use in many areas against Jones in that fight. I think a lot of people will be surprised. I think Tom is just a different kind of athlete, which is why I want them to fight. I want Tom to be able to show the people how good he is.”
Despite the delays and lack of information about when he might fight again, Aspinall continues training and preparing for the day he’ll finally get to settle things with Jones in the octagon.
Bukauskas has nothing but the highest praise for Aspinall as a teammate but also because he’s leading by example with his dedication to show up every single day even if his own fight career is stuck in limbo right now.
“You can pretty much say Tom is the team captain along with his dad,” Bukauskas said. “Just to be able to get little pointers here and there and see his mindset going into fights and the way that he actually trains and the way he presents himself in sparring, it’s all amazing things that I can learn from. It’s definitely made me a better fighter being up there with him.”
