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

It takes either heavyweight champion Jon Jones or challenger Stipe Miocic to drop out of the fight on Friday or Saturday — these things happen in MMA — but even the Englishman who served as a backup fighter this weekend knows how unlikely that is.

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

That reaction, which was immediately followed by a loud “Tommy” chant — and ended with Jones playfully telling the crowd at The Theater at MSG to “knock it off” — is a testament to how much Aspinall has endeared himself to UFC fans in the 12 months since he won the interim heavyweight title at the Garden, particularly in the past week as Jones tried to justify why he has no interest in a title unification with Aspinall.

“I’m very lucky in the fact that a lot of people see what’s happened and what’s happening and they realize it, which is nice,” Aspinall told The Post during a visit to its video studio, hours before the tribute in his name — which he did not stand on stage to receive. “I don’t really have to do a lot. I don’t have to come here and make a big song and dance about it because my name is already covered so much by the media and fans and stuff. It’s cool. It’s nice.”

Two things have been made clear since Aspinall (15-3, 15 goals) knocked out Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim title — created when Jones tore a pectoral muscle last fall less than two weeks before he was originally scheduled to face Miocic:

1. Aspinall has done everything he can to get Jones’ attention and lock in a chance to become the undisputed champion.
2. More than facing Jones, however, Aspinall’s true desire is undisputed status.

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

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

“I’d like to fight Jon Jones for (the undisputed title). That would be pretty cool,” Aspinal reiterated. “But if it doesn’t happen, I’m not bothered. Like I said, Jon Jones is not my focus. My focus is the undisputed heavyweight title. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant to me at this point.”

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

Over the past year, trying to secure a unification bout with Jones — with a break in the middle to make the first successful defense of a UFC interim title in a decade, avenging his only UFC loss with a first-round KO of Curtis Blaydes in July — Aspinall has filled his social media platforms with brazen attempts to get the GOAT to sling mud and project threats.

In the spring, Aspinall hoped to have a photo snapped with Jones in the typical square-off position, with the other champion declining to play ball.

Aspinall has created cheeky content, such as comically looking for “Jones” in a gym or pool.

All that has done, according to Jones’ latest assessment to The Post, is to be labeled “annoying” and, while addressing reporters at Wednesday’s media day, lead Jones to declare: “Tom has been such an a-hole that I don’t want do business with him.”

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

“I’m just trying to get a fight for the undisputed title,” confirms the easy-going Aspinall. “Like I said, it’s not aimed at 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 fun .”

Aspinall is simply in New York to do whatever business the UFC needs of him, whether it’s just weighing in and enjoying the show or jumping in with precious little prep time to face either the UFC’s biggest light heavyweight or its biggest heavyweight.

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

“This is really not my fight week. I’m here to step in if the UFC needs me,” explains Aspinall. “This is not my week, so it’s not really my choice to push my name and stuff. Other people just do it for me.”

In the end, Aspinall is most interested in letting the moment come and go.

Let Jones and Miocic settle the deals they thought of last November.

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

“When it’s done, it’s done,” said 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’m just looking forward to getting this fight done. Everything will be ready in just a couple of days and we will all move on.”

“And I don’t know what it looks like. Nobody knows what it looks like right now. You never, never, ever know in MMA, especially at heavyweight. So right now we’re just waiting.”