Former UFC Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion Henry Cejudo recently commented on Tom Aspinall’s reaction to his interim heavyweight victory over Sergei Pavlovich. The Briton seems unbothered by the criticism, saying the former champ is just trying to get attention.
Aspinall’s success at UFC 295 was overwhelming after he managed to knock out Pavlovich at just 1:09 of Round 1. After realizing his victory, the Briton didn’t hide his emotions, but Cejudo doesn’t like the scene, calling the interim champ’s reaction “emotional.” The American also downplayed the win, reminding Aspinall that it was “not the real thing.”
“It’s an interim, Tom!” Cejudo commented through one of his newest posts on his YouTube channel. “Save those tears for when you actually win the real belt. Sometimes, when I see people like that, they just get too emotional after an interim belt. Yeah, you got a trophy, but they might as well dip that thing in either silver or bronze because it’s not the real thing.
“I mean that with all due respect. As a competitor, I start to think of their mentalities. How is it or what is it that makes them – has he thought that he’s reached the pinnacle of the world? I’m not picking on you, Tom. I’m just saying to you, save those tears for when you actually own the undisputed title.”
Hearing about the comments, Aspinall responded with indifference, stressing that Cejudo is someone he doesn’t even have a connection with. As the interim heavyweight champion explained, the fighter is just one of the “strangers” that don’t bother him.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Aspinall told Michael Bisping in an interview. “What bothers me is when someone I know has an issue, and they got my number, but they want to go online to beef it up. If you got an issue and got some questions, give me a ring. You know what I mean. I mean in general. That’s when it annoys me, when it’s people that I know. When it’s strangers, I couldn’t care less. I couldn’t care less.”
Aspinall ended the topic quickly, further underlining his lack of interest. The champ believes Cejudo is just trying to make it to the headline.
“It doesn’t matter to me what he says, he’s about 5’3,” Aspinall said. “If he’s talking, I probably won’t hear him because of how far away he is from me. So yeah, it doesn’t matter. He’s trying to get headlines, isn’t he? He’s trying to get headlined, obviously.”
