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Coalition Of The Willing Meets In London; U.S. Warns Israel Against West Bank Annexation; Trump Ends Trade Talks With Canada Over Anti-Tariff Ad; Venezuela Holds Military Exercises Amid Tensions With The U.S.; Tom Aspinall To Defend Heavyweight Title In Abu Dhabi Saturday. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired October 24, 2025 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There was a bilateral meeting initially between President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Keir

Starmer. Keir Starmer has said he wants to make sure that Ukraine can be supported through the winter financially, also with the weapons that it

needs to stop the Russian attacks. Speaking here about longer range missiles, speaking about air defense systems around Ukraine's critical

energy infrastructure which Russia has really decided to target.

According to President Zelenskyy, recently there are about 200 such sort of critical infrastructure sites across Ukraine and quite literally because

Russia is now producing more drones and firing them in bigger salvos with missiles, that it's beginning to sort of saturate out Ukraine's air

defenses. So that's a key area. But what we've been hearing so far is that this is an opportunity to discuss and put on the table with the Coalition

of the Willing all the key issues. You know, we've had in the past week or so, the almost President Trump getting close to meeting with Vladimir

Putin.

That got canceled. Then the United States and the European Union putting additional sanctions on Russian assets, Russian oil and energy being a

particular focus of that. And one of the other outstanding issues that the European Union is still working on and that Keir Starmer wants to see

progress on is a way to better financially support Ukraine going forward, and that would be using frozen Russian assets, up to about $140 billion

worth.

It's a complicated procedure to release that money, or at least use it as a loan guarantee for Ukraine. And it's a complicated procedure, if you will,

that allows it to happen insomuch as the European Union idea is that Ukraine would get this loan and it would never have to repay it back to the

E.U. unless or until Russia pays war reparations to Ukraine. It's a very complicated financial arrangement, potentially, and it's also has

implications, particularly for Belgium.

And it does seem at the moment that that's still taking some time to work out the details. But that's something that Prime Minister Keir Starmer

wants to see advanced as well.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And Nic, on the topic of -- on the subject of oil, I mean, we've been reporting the last hour that

China appears to be making moves to divert oil or divert the purchase of oil away from Russia. So to a degree, these sanctions are already beginning

to have an effect.

But if we take a step back, look at the bigger picture, how likely are they to be effective in denting Russia's war effort, given we know they are very

good at evading Western sanctions and they have this shadow fleet, of course, that they've used previously in the past?

ROBERTSON: Yes. I think one of the key questions and it has been, of course, since President Trump came into office because he does seem to sort

of flip flop between taking a more robust supporting position on Ukraine and its European allies and then sort of flipping over after he speaks to

President Putin to a position that's more supportive of the Russian position and the Russia's aims out of the war.

But in this past week, with President Trump appearing to take a stronger position with these sanctions, it's a signal, perhaps, to countries like

China and India that buy oil products and gas products from Russia that the United States is getting more serious about which side it's coming down on

here. And therefore the financial implications, the implications and outfalls of these sanctions could impact those countries, and therefore it

may.

But, look, I mean, the reality here is that Russia has been very adept at, you know, circumventing all the different sanctions that have been put on

it. European Union this week put its 19th round of sanctions on Russia. Russia has developed ways to get its oil around the world using shadow

fleets of ships to move it. So I don't think anyone thinks that this is going to be a silver bullet, that it's going to stop Russia and its war

aims in its tracks, but it is hoped to be accumulatively at a point where Russia is believed to be or potentially about to struggle economically more

into next year with financing the heavy costs of the war, that this is the right time to do it.

But I think a lot of -- a lot of analysis would say it really depends on if President Trump stays the course with these sanctions that he's put in

place.

[10:05:01]

MACFARLANE: All right. For now, Nic, in London, appreciate it. Thanks, Nic.

And we're keeping a close eye on a federal courtroom where New York Attorney General Letitia James is expected to appear next hour on felony

bank fraud charges. James's legal team plans to challenge the appointment of prosecutor handpicked by President Donald Trump, and asked for her case

to be dismissed. James denies any wrongdoing and calls the charges against her, quote, "a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of

our justice system."

And we are seeing here live pictures of Letitia James entering the courtroom where she is expected to plea -- give a -- she is expected to

appear in court in the next hours.

Ahead, we'll bring you the latest on that when we get it.

Now, U.S. officials are warning Israel that it will lose American support if it moves forward with annexing the West Bank. While Vice President J.D.

Vance was in Israel earlier this week working on maintaining the Gaza ceasefire, the Israeli parliament passed a preliminary vote to advance

annexation through Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. It says it's unlikely to go anywhere. This is how Americans have responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank. OK? Don't worry about it. Is that your

question? They're not going to do anything with the West Bank. Don't worry about it. Israel is doing very well. They're not going to do anything with

it.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a political stunt. It was a very stupid political stunt. And I personally take some insult to

it. The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel.

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What else will threaten this whole process? I mean, we understand that, right? I mean, everyone has to

understand if something like that were to happen right now, if that were to happen, a lot of the countries that are involved in working on this

probably aren't going to want to be involved in this anymore. It's a threat to the peace process, and everybody knows it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: My next guest just returned from the West Bank. Jan Egeland is the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and joins me live

from Amman in Jordan.

Jan, great to see you. We -- I'm sure you heard there the president's comments and others saying that the West Bank will not be annexed. That's

not taking into account what is happening on the ground right now. You say the brutal and intentional carving up of Palestinian land. Just tell us

what you've seen in the past few days.

JAN EGELAND, SECRETARY GENERAL, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Well, it's so good that the president and the vice president, the secretary says there

will be no formal annexation of the West Bank. The U.S. will guarantee that I believe. But the facts on the ground is that there are more and more

illegal settlements from where more and more violent gangs harass, attack peaceful, vulnerable Palestinian communities.

I've been to some of them, and it was heartbreaking to see that here there was a Bedouin community that had been here for a generation in this place.

These are the torched homes. There are torched school and so on. And then I see the illegal settlements close by that are thriving and can do whatever

they please with impunity because after the horrors of Hamas's attack on Israel two years ago, on the 7th of October, it seemed that they got free

hands. They can do whatever they want against defenseless Palestinian civilians and rob their land.

MACFARLANE: And, Jan, what were Palestinian families telling you about how settlers are stealing their land and also their water, too?

EGELAND: Well, it's a systematic campaign from certain outposts that target specific Palestinian communities. So they start by harassing the people.

Then they vandalize their property. Then they start to torch down some of the houses. Then they may steal some of their livestock. They may uproot

their olive trees and their fruit trees, and then they may steal or divert their water source. I mean, it is -- this is the desert land in many

places, water is crucial, especially for those who have livestock. And it's heartbreaking really. And it's happening on an unprecedented scale. So

that's the facts on the ground. Everybody go and see for themselves.

MACFARLANE: And there are certain areas that you cannot access in the West Bank because Israel are blocking humanitarian agencies from accessing those

sites under, I think, a new rule introduced in March. What is that rule and what does it spell for organizations like yourselves and those Palestinians

in the areas we cannot see?

EGELAND: Well, these are some of the old refugee camps, Tulkarm, Jenin, et cetera., where there were also radical militant groups on the Palestinian

side.

[10:10:11]

And these were then had the Israeli army attack. And of course, what happened was that tens of thousands of civilians, women, children,

families, were driven away. And still there are areas where we cannot access, human rights monitors cannot access. And most importantly, the

Palestinians cannot go back to their homes. So in this Tulkarm camp where people live that were driven out in 1948 from what is now Israel, they

ended up in in the West Bank.

They created a refugee camp. Now it's part of town. It's an urban area. 20,000 people were driven out in hours. And they are now in miserable

conditions elsewhere.

MACFARLANE: I mean, the current Israeli administration just yesterday voted to move forward with the annexation of the West Bank. And we know that

there are far-right Cabinet ministers who are openly backing settler violence. And OCHA have said there have been 3,000 attacks against

Palestinians in the West Bank in the past two years. I mean, we heard the United States, Trump administration, they're saying they will not let this

annexation happen.

But what needs to be done to stop this violence, to stop this proliferation of violence right now?

EGELAND: Well, stop new illegal settlements colonizing occupied land, stop the subsidizing of them by the Israeli state. And perhaps most importantly,

stop the impunity, meaning that a Palestinian thug can beat women and children senseless without any consequences, really? And it's proven there

are -- there is enormous amounts of evidence of that. Whereas Palestinians are arrested when they -- when they ask for investigation of the criminal

gangs.

So there has to be some justice here. If there is to be any type of discussions on the Palestinian state, it has to exist. It's not enough to,

as many countries do recognize something that is not a state, that it's an area that is being carved up, stolen piece by piece. And it happens at an

accelerating rate.

MACFARLANE: And Jan, on the subject of aid to Gaza, you said in a statement yesterday that Israel is continuing to deny access to aid from

international NGOs with almost $50 million worth of food and medical supplies and hygiene kits sitting on the border. What reason have Israeli

authorities given for that?

EGELAND: Well, we are around 40 international non-governmental organizations. Many of us have a big presence on the ground. The Norwegian

Refugee Council we have 250 experience aid workers inside of Gaza. We have like our colleagues in warehouses in Egypt and in Jordan, desperately

needed aid sitting, waiting since March, when the last ceasefire was broken. And since then we've been denied all access for our relief.

They say, the Israeli government, that it is because we are not fully registered anymore because they ask for a reregistration of organizations

who have been there for a generation and have an active registration, and therefore we are not approved to bring in new relief supplies. We're

hopeful that the United States and European countries will help us to get the registration back and full access to people in need in Gaza.

MACFARLANE: Jan, at this time, it's important, of course, not just to keep eyes on Gaza, but also on the West Bank. So we really appreciate you coming

on and giving us your firsthand view of that. Thank you.

EGELAND: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. There's more news ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:16:42]

MACFARLANE: U.S. President Donald Trump says he's terminating trade talks with Canada over an ad featuring the words of former U.S. President Ronald

Reagan. Ontario's provincial government released the ad with audio from Reagan's 1987 speech, where he said tariffs hurt American workers and

consumers and triggered fierce trade wars. In a social media post, President Trump called the ad fake and announced the end of negotiations.

Paula Newton is back with us this hour.

And Paula, we were just hearing from Mark Carney before he boarded a plane to Asia a short time ago. Tell us what we heard.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we heard is that a lot of this is not in Canada's control. It is a sobering message not just for Canadians

but for others trying to get a good trade deal with the United States, or making sure that any agreement that is signed is not changed via social

media posts.

We did hear from the prime minister in the last hour as he was leaving for a crucial summit in Asia. Donald Trump will be there as well. I want you to

listen now to Prime Minister Mark Carney just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I realize that that policy has fundamentally changed from the policy in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. And it's

a situation where the United States has tariffs against every one of their trading partners to different degrees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So what Carney is getting at there is the here and now, right, Christina? A lot of talk about Ronald Reagan and there's no doubt that that

conservative icon using that in an ad really touched a nerve with President Trump. Having said that, this is 2025 and these trade negotiations are

rough and the United States is, to use the president's term, holding a lot of cards.

Mark Carney will try to expand trade in Canada with his allies, with other nations, not the least of which are trading nations in Asia. But right now,

they were supposed to sign in the next few days. We heard it was going to be in the offing. A deal on steel, just steel and aluminum. And this would

have helped not just Canadian industry, but also American consumers. It seems now that that is off the table.

I mean, Christina, look, the prime minister was very clear yesterday. He tried to raise the prime minister on the phone just to try and talk about a

World Series bet. And even that didn't work out for him. He wasn't able to get that call in. So we will see if any communication happens on these long

flights. We do expect the president within the hour to also leave on that Asia trip, and we'll see if he says anything more about trading with

Canada.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And just to go back a bit, Paula, just to talk about the ad, the original sin, the ad, I mean, what prompted Ontario province, Doug

Ford, to do this? We know they've been particularly hit by tariffs, but just explain the background.

NEWTON: Well, especially the auto industry, right? I mean, the point is, is that the president and his Cabinet have put extreme pressure on the big

three automakers, Stellantis, Ford and GM, to move production out of Canada and Mexico and back to the United States. Some of that has now taken place.

And look, the president has made clear there will be no deal on cars. And yet Canada is striking back and saying, look, we buy hundreds of thousands

of U.S. cars every year.

It is right and proper that some of them, including the cars or the parts should be made in Canada. That is what is at issue right now.

[10:20:02]

By invoking Ronald Reagan, who I have to tell you, Christina, unequivocally was a free trader, and he's the man who first initiated a free trade deal

back in the '80s between Canada and the United States, I think Doug Ford, the premier, wanted to speak directly to conservatives in conservative

states. They are spending millions of dollars on this ad, airing it during the World Series in the United States.

But it touched a nerve with the president, and it may have caused more harm than done any good. I will say one silver lining for Canada, Trump did not

announce new tariffs against Canada, just that talks would be on hold. It will be up to Mark Carney now to see if he can repair this relationship in

the coming days, if that's even possible through the end of this year.

MACFARLANE: Yes, certainly ramped up the pressure for this trip, hasn't it?

Paula, we appreciate it. Thank you.

All right. Still to come with tensions already on the rise between the U.S. and Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. has launched

its 10th strike against an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean. We're live in Caracas just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Christina Macfarlane. Here are your headlines this hour.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are expected to talk to reporters in a couple of hours. They've

been meeting in London at the U.K.'s Coalition of the Willing summit, where the focus is on boosting support for Ukraine. On Thursday, the E.U. failed

to agree a deal to use frozen Russian assets to help Kyiv.

And U.S. President Donald Trump says he's terminating trade talks with Canada over what he calls a fake advertisement released by Ontario's

provincial government. It features a 1987 speech by then President Ronald Reagan, who says tariffs hurt American workers and consumers and trigger

fierce trade wars. In comments last hour, Canadian prime minister mark carney said trade trigger fierce trade wars.

In comments last hour, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade cooperation with the U.S. would benefit workers in both countries.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is expected to ask for the indictment lodged against her by the U.S. Justice Department to be

dismissed today in court. Her legal team is challenging the, quote, "unlawful appointment of President Donald Trump's handpicked prosecutor in

the case." James was indicted on felony charges of bank fraud and denies any wrongdoing.

Now breaking this hour, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. has carried out its 10th deadly strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the

Caribbean. He says all six people on board were killed. Just yesterday, President Donald Trump said he'll keep ordering air strikes without asking

permission from Congress. Mr. Trump also denied that the U.S. sent a B-1 bomber like this one to fly near the coast of Venezuela on Thursday.

[10:25:04]

Flight trackers clocked it about 80 kilometers from the mainland. It's not clear if the aircraft entered Venezuelan airspace. But the show of force

and soaring tensions have Venezuela on edge. Its government have been holding military drills as President Nicolas Maduro issued this message in

English.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT: Not war, not war, not war. Just peace, just peace, just peace. Forever. Forever. Forever. Peace forever. No

crazy war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon is live for us in Caracas.

That was a pretty clear message there from Maduro. What else are you or have you been hearing from Venezuelan officials?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Christina, the relationship between Washington and Latin American countries is often described in terms

of carrots and sticks. That is, of course, a reference to a phrase by the late U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Well, Maduro is also equally

skilled in both carrots and sticks because just the day before he made that English language plea to Donald Trump, this is what he had to say about the

potential for open confrontation with the U.S., which would likely mean in an air attack from Washington into Venezuela. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADURO (through translator): Any military force around the world knows the power of the Igla-S, and Venezuela has no fewer than 5,000 Igla-S in key

air defense positions to guarantee peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: He was, of course, making a reference to air defense Russian missiles that Venezuela has acquired in recent years, and used in to prop

up its air defense. Also, in terms of again carrots and sticks, the carrot that were registering today, Christina, is the release of at least 17

Colombian citizens who have been wrongfully detained here in Venezuela. Of course, that is a triumph of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro's

strategy to sort of show his support for Maduro in front of this confrontation with the U.S.

The U.S. instead are sticking frankly to the sticks with these latest strikes. It's the 10th that were registering in the Caribbean and Pacific

waters. That also means that 43 people, Christina, 43 people have been killed since these this confrontation began. The White House is insisting

that all of these people are, of course, narco traffickers. They have yet to present any proof, Christina.

MACFARLANE: And of course, in all of this, it's the Venezuelan people who are caught in the middle of the conflict. The Norwegian Refugee Council

says one in our Venezuelans now need humanitarian aid. What are you seeing, Stefano?

POZZEBON: Yes, of course. This is a -- this is a country that remains in deep economic trouble. No matter how you see it, no matter how you look at

it, no matter the effort to lift U.S. sanctions on its oil exports from the administration here in Venezuela, well, Venezuela remains in deep trouble.

We spoke with several Venezuelans since we came here earlier this week. One, for example, told us that he had to give up his job on the same week

that this confrontation with the United States began because his mother broke his -- her pelvis in a -- in a home domestic incident and that he had

to care for her because they don't have the money to look after her.

And of course, the public health system here in Venezuela is in disarray. This is a country that --whose currency has devalued almost 50 percent

since the beginning of this confrontation, this new campaign from the White House. So it's a good point to point out and to highlight that in the

middle of this confrontation there is, of course, millions of Venezuelans who are still reeling from one of the most devastating economic crises

registered anywhere in history in a country that is not at war.

And you can probably read more about it on our Web site with our reporting here from Caracas, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes. Definitely something that is not talked about enough.

Stefano, we appreciate it. Thank you.

And as we get this news of a deadly strike on alleged drug smuggling boat, let's dig in deeper now with Juan Gonzalez. He is the former White House

National Security adviser, senior director for the Western hemisphere in the Biden administration. He is now a resident fellow at the Georgetown

America's Institute.

Thank you for joining us.

JUAN GONZALEZ, FORMER SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Thank you for having me.

MACFARLANE: So, Juan, we know the U.S. has never been a fan of the Venezuela administration, but why go after them so heavily now? What your

read of this?

[10:30:01]

GONZALEZ: Well, certainly I mean right now the Trump administration has moved from a -- what seems like a counter-narcotics operation to active

kinetic ops and political warfare against Venezuela. As has been mentioned since September 2nd, there have been 10 lethal strikes, killing at least 43

people.

What's concerning right now is that the president has said explicitly that the U.S. does not need formal declaration of war from Congress to strike

what he calls narco terrorists, and he has elevated drug cartels to ISIS in the Western hemisphere. Now, the strategic implications of these are one

that the president has basically signaled that he's going to rely on executive war powers and the ISIS framing really opens up a broader set of

legal and operational toolkit like covert ops, as the president has mentioned, strike authority.

So what we're going toward is the next phase of escalation, going from maritime interdictions to possible strikes inside Venezuelan territory, all

with the aims of changing the regime inside of Venezuela.

MACFARLANE: You just heard Maduro there saying that Venezuela has, I think, 5,000 Russian anti-aircraft missiles. And we know Russia and China are

supporters of him. Will they back Venezuela if the U.S. continues its pressure, as you say, not just in maritime but also on land?

GONZALEZ: I mean, that's an important question. Certainly the Venezuela's air -- Venezuela's military is in disrepair, but its air defenses are

formidable. The Russian but also Chinese radar and air defenses are not fixed. They're mobile. They would not stand a chance against the F-35s. But

what it does underscore is that any sort of military intervention inside Venezuela will not be easy.

China and Russia also have strategic interests. They have intelligence bases there. They have economic interests there. But there's an open

question about where Venezuela really fits in the level of priorities, as they engage the United States.

MACFARLANE: The Biden administration, of course, called for new elections in Venezuela, even though Nicolas Maduro was defeated and went on to be

defeated in a landslide by the democratic opposition. The Biden administration did eventually recognize Edmundo Gonzalez as the president-

elect, but it took them a little while. Why did they drag their feet on that for so long?

GONZALEZ: Well, I mean, the question was, there was a result of the election that was resounding in its election of Edmundo Gonzalez. Then

there was a follow on conversation about getting the proof, the counting of the ballots. So we are actually waiting for the institutional authorities

to come out with a decision and -- but we moved fairly quickly to recognize Edmundo Gonzalez when it seemed clear that Maduro was not going to

recognize the results of the election.

MACFARLANE: But by that time, he had been exiled. Right? So it was too late in effect.

GONZALEZ: Correct. But there were also previous announcements that said that clearly the Venezuelan people had made a decision in favor of Edmundo

Gonzalez. What ended up happening was a formal recognition by the United States is really a formality. I mean, we'd actually recognized the results

of the voting that had taken place on July 28th.

MACFARLANE: Do you look back on that, though, with some degree of regret in some senses, that that could have been, you know, if the U.S. wanted a

regime change in Venezuela, that was the time?

GONZALEZ: Certainly. And it's one that, you know, the support from the Biden administration, what it did was it allowed actually these elections

to take place. It allowed the primaries to take place. And what it did was the result, even though not unexpectedly, Maduro did not allow an election

where he did not control the outcome. It became pretty clear to the international community across the political spectrum, from left, center

and right, that Maduro had stolen the election.

Now that there's a big leap between that and the idea of a military intervention by the United States. The United States does not have a good

record this century or the last when it comes to military interventions and the restoration of order. I think a key question for the American public at

this particular point is, you know, guaranteeing the, you know, the security and the ability to govern of Edmundo Gonzalez, who is the

rightfully elected president, is that something that's going to take 20,000 or 30,000 U.S. Marines to actually guarantee that security?

Is that something the American people think is the right path? Is that the right kind of cost that we're willing to pay when there are other routes?

You know, negotiations aren't an easy path. They're not going to guarantee success. But when you look at similar processes around the world, it is a

channel for dialogue that is necessary to avoid any sort of confrontation and actually promote viable and meaningful concessions by Maduro.

MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, it's certainly interesting in light of U.S. intervention happening right now, isn't it, to consider where we are.

Juan Gonzalez, it's always great to speak to you, though. Great to get your perspective. We appreciate it. Thank you.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: And we will be right back after this quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:37:05]

MACFARLANE: In Abu Dhabi tomorrow, the undisputed heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, will enter a UFC 321 as the favorite to retain the title.

CONNECT THE WORLD's Becky Anderson sat down with him ahead of his first defense of his belt, talk about his mindset, the importance of family and

whether he'd fight at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): For UFC fans, Abu Dhabi is the place to be as many of the world's fiercest fighters are

taking to the octagon at the Etihad Arena for the latest tournament, including the defending heavyweight champion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: UFC heavyweight champion of the world, Tom Aspinall.

TOM ASPINALL, UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: That's it, is it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think so. Welcome to the Etihad Arena.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Tom Aspinall returning to Abu Dhabi with the belt in his giant hand to face contender Ciryl Gane. As I discovered when we met

for our interview, Tom's enormous physique frames a gentle giant who appears to be just a regular family guy outside the cage.

You are here in Abu Dhabi as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. You are now the face of this booming global sport. How does that feel?

ASPINALL: I don't know if I'm the face. I think that's a bit unfair on a couple of other people saying that on Facebook, but I keep telling myself

that this is where I want it to be. The first time I put the gloves on, and all these years later, this is -- this is where we are.

ANDERSON: Is there still that kind of raw electric anticipation, or do you dial it down these days?

ASPINALL: As my emotions are building up, I have to like try and calm myself down a little bit and be like, listen, I just need to be on before

11:00 on Saturday. And until then, I need to try and relax. So yes, it's an emotional thing. You know, fighting people, it's tough essentially. You're

putting your life on the line in front of millions of people. I mean, that might sound a bit extreme, but bad things can happen in there.

ANDERSON: You said to me earlier that you could die in that cage. I mean, do you mean that?

ASPINALL: Well, I don't want to die in the cage. Definitely don't want to. But, I mean, it's a dangerous sport. Yes. There's no -- the idea is to hurt

the other person.

ANDERSON: You've got to be tough. You know, you are also this really, really nice bloke. Calm, measured. How do you square that with the guy in

the cage?

ASPINALL: Well, it's them or me. One of us has to get beat up and it's going to have to be them. It's as simple as that.

ANDERSON: Can we talk about Donald Trump?

ASPINALL: If you want.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump's impact on UFC has been huge. Would you agree?

ASPINALL: I think that any time like a big name like him or somebody else of his stature is involved with the sport and they're attached to it, it

becomes -- there's more eyes on the sport. Yes.

[10:40:00]

TRUMP: We're going to have a UFC fight right at the White House, and we're going to end up probably 6,000 people in front of the White House. And then

on the Ellipse, we're going to have 80,000 or 90,000. It's going to be an unbelievable event.

ANDERSON: President Trump now wants a UFC superfight on the White House lawn for his 80th birthday. Hand on heart, do you picture yourself stepping

out for a world title in front of the U.S. president?

ASPINALL: I have no idea.

ANDERSON: But would you like to be?

ASPINALL: If it was offered to me, yes, absolutely I would. I'd fight anywhere in the world. Not just -- I'm not just looking to fight in one

place. I fight where the UFC told me to fight. But if I could fight there, if I got the option, I would. But if not, that's fine.

ANDERSON: Who do you want your opponent to be?

ASPINALL: Whoever is the number one contender. If I'm still the champion by then, whoever the number one contender is, that's who I'll fight.

ANDERSON: And the world just lost boxing legend Ricky Hatton. What did he mean to you? And how did that moment reflect the sort of resilience of

British fighters?

ASPINALL: I like grew up watching Ricky Hatton's fights. He's obviously a Manchester guy, and he did some, like, really unprecedented things within

the sport, not just winning world titles, but just like the way he was to people and the way that people loved him. Like, you got to remember that

20,000 people went to Vegas. The people wanted to be there just to walk on the same streets that Ricky Hatton did, to show them the support. And

that's just -- that's what fighters dream of, you know what I mean? So great loss.

ANDERSON: How important is family to you? I mean, you get in that ring. I know dad is involved. You know, deeply involved in your training and as a

mentor. Just talk to me about the family.

ASPINALL: Well, this is a -- is a family thing for me. Since my first training session, my family has been involved. My dad has been involved.

He's still involved. He's going to be involved to the end. It's like even my kids started training now.

ANDERSON: And will you be training those kids?

ASPINALL: No.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: Why not?

ASPINALL: That's too much stress. It's too much stress for me. No chance. They're not going to be fighters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: A good Manchester lad, isn't he?

Now, the jewel heist at the Louvre has inspired a cheeky Instagram ad. The owner of the German company that makes the furniture lift used by the

robbers is getting his 15 minutes of fame. His post said the next time you need things to move quickly and touts the quiet effectiveness of the

motorized platform, along with a photo of the lift outside the Louvre. He says when it was clear that nobody had been hurt, his entrepreneurial

spirit kicked in and he's very pleased with the reaction.

Good for him.

Now Canada is all set for game one of the World Series later tonight. Shohei Ohtani and defending champions Los Angeles Dodgers are in Toronto to

face the Blue Jays. Much more on the fall classic ahead on "WORLD SPORTS" just after the break. Stay tuned for that. But that is CONNECT THE WORLD

with me, Christina Macfarlane, for now. Stay tuned with CNN.

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[10:45:28]

(WORLD SPORT)

END