Tom Aspinall’s teammate and KSW Heavyweight Champion, Phil De Fries, said that Alex Pereira had turned down an opportunity to face the UFC Heavyweight Champion previously. 

De Fries is preparing for his own return to defend his title for the 14th time on April 18. And speaking to “Bloody Elbow” in the press run leading up to that, De Fries was asked about the prospect of seeing his teammate face Pereira – who will be facing Ciryl Gane for the Interim Heavyweight title at Freedom 250. 

“I’m pretty sure, you know, Pereira’s been offered Tom and said no. I’m fairly sure that’s a fact,” he said of the potential match-up. “You never know, Pereira might take the belt and run away but I think Pereira sees Gane as an easier fight than Tom.”

Pereira had originally intended to move up to heavyweight last year, but losing his Light Heavyweight Championship to Magomed Ankalaev saw him remain to reclaim his title. Aspinall has been sidelined since October last year after sustaining an eye injury in his title defense against Gane. 

“Obviously I think Tom’s better than Gane but I’m not saying that because someone’s better, I think it’s just stylistically people match up better. But, that’d be great for Tom,” De Fries added. 

He further predicted that Pereira will beat Gane on June 14. 

Aspinall was promoted to Undisputed Heavyweight Champion last year after Jon Jones retired, having been adamant he was not going to fight Aspinall and instead wanted to face Pereira. That fight has yet to manifest and for the time being at least, Jones is retired. Aspinall should be booked against whomever holds the Interim Heavyweight title when he returns to the Octagon.