Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is in the midst of discussions with the organisation for next assignment in the Octagon.

Aspinall, the interim champion now for more than a year, last competed in July of this year in a brief shellacking of top contender Curtis Blaydes in an event in Manchester — and has made clear since then that he will reject any bout offers in which the official heavyweight championship will not be up for grabs.

Meanwhile, Jon Jones, the UFC heavyweight champion, successfully defended his crown for the first time last weekend in the UFC 309 headliner from Madison Square Garden in New York City — but has stated repeatedly that he has no desire to face the number one contender Aspinall in his outing unless he gets offered, as he put it, “f*ck you money.”

But in a video posted to the Briton’s YouTube channel, Aspinall confirmed that he is holding talks with the UFC over his next fight — but refused to confirm the identity of who it may come against.

“Yeah, we’re in negotiations right now. That’s the honest answer,” Aspinall said in the clip, as noted by BJPenn.com.  “So, we don’t know when the fight is going to be. But I’ll be ready to go whenever. I’m back in the gym now. I’m back in the gym training, as always.”

“I’ll be ready to fight when they let me know. Until then, I’ll be improving, I’ll be getting better. So, no great rush on that. Obviously, I want to fight as soon as possible. But, right now, we’re just waiting on a date. That’s it.”

Meanwhile, Aspinall has opened as the betting favourite ahead of any hypothetical fight with the (mostly) undefeated Jones, who is generally regarded as the most dominant fighter in mixed martial arts history, with one prominent bookmaker giving him odds of -127 which translates to a roughly 56% chance of winning.