Jon Jones remains opposed to the idea of fighting Tom Aspinall.
The Heavyweight title in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been on ice since Jones’ long-awaited return against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023. Needing just over two minutes to sink in a guillotine choke, Jones submitted the Frenchman to become the new undisputed champion (watch highlights) after a three-year hiatus.
Jones was set to make his first title defense as the Heavyweight champion against former two-time titlist, Stipe Miocic, at UFC 295 in November 2023. That was until a torn pectoral muscle shoved “Bones” to the sideline, where he’ll be for the first half of 2024. Therefore, the promotion created an interim title at UFC 295 as compensation and led to Tom Aspinall’s crowning achievement when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds (watch highlights). Therefore, that makes him next in line for Jones, right? Not exactly. Miocic is expected to still get his opportunity despite having not fought since a second round knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in March 2021. Aspinall’s displeasure over the whole situation has prompted quite the reaction out of the all-time great, Jones.
“I love how a fighter can do an interview about me every week, make silly memes on the Internet. And then, when I respond, they play the victim role. Lol,” Jones tweeted.
“Tom, you talking about someone’s ego running wild is one of the most hypocritical things ever,” he continued. “You literally haven’t kept my balls out of your mouth since you won that imaginary championship. Both you and Sergei have zero championships between your name. It’s funny that you actually walk around feeling like the world champion. Especially when the actual champion is undefeated, and had a flawless last performance. Literally didn’t get hit my last fight.”
The next fight for Jones, no matter who against, will be his second in the Heavyweight division after a lifelong career at Light Heavyweight that saw him go 26-1, and 1 no contest (27-1, 1 no contest overall). Since Jones’ final fight at 205 pounds in February 2020, Aspinall joined UFC’s roster and has skyrocketed to the top of the division and won seven of his eight bouts (14-3) while Jones and Miocic have each only fought once. Aspinall’s lone loss came in 15 seconds against Curtis Blaydes when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in July 2022 (watch highlights).
“My Stipe fight was booked well before yours came along, you weren’t even the backup fighter,” Jones said. “Trust me you’re the one who is coming around here with the inflated ego and entitlement. That intern championship means absolutely nothing if you seriously haven’t noticed yet. All your fight did at Madison Square Garden was confuse the fans. Good thing the UFC and its too long-time standing champions are all on the same page. The UFC, Stipe, and I have unfinished business, it’s really just that simple.
“Literally, the same thing, different year,” he concluded. “It’s always the fighter who’s not technically next in line who talks the most shit. Usually, crickets from the guy who is actually next with the contract signed.”
A lot of the backlash for the insistence on keeping the Jones and Miocic fight alive has been around the concept of Jones being afraid to risk his legacy and new position as Heavyweight titleholder. Especially considering the activity levels of all three fighters in the mix, comparatively.
“Yep, I’m terrified,” Jones joked in response to a Twitter user calling him scared to fight Aspinall. “No matter who would’ve won that interim championship, the narrative still would be the same. The G.O.A.T. is getting older now and is running from fights. 36-year-old lifelong champion starting to contemplate retirement. What a chicken.
“What I refuse to do is be like a lot of these other fighters who stuck around too long,” he added. “That just won’t happen. Your boy ‘Bones’ Jones over here, despite what a lot of people may like to think. I’ve set myself up pretty well in life. I want Stipe for my résumé, outside of that, I need nothing else from this sport. I came, I saw, and I conquered. Facts.”
The speculation for both Jones and Miocic has been that they’ll both retire after they fight, leaving Aspinall alone to claim the undisputed title by default. Jones added as much fuel to that fire as he possibly could have with his last comment, which he attempted to clarify.
“I’m not saying that. What I am saying is, coming back from two different surgeries, and defeating Stipe is my primary goal, and a huge feat if you ask me,” Jones said. “We both have already agreed to massive contracts, a win for either one of us would be absolutely massive for either of our careers. Despite how good Tom may seem right now, a win over him really does nothing for my legacy. That’s just the truth. That’s all I’m saying, I understand a lot of you guys don’t fully understand what’s happening behind the scenes. You don’t make it as far as myself and Stipe not realizing the business side of this.”
Still unamused, Aspinall chimed in with what Jones called a “brilliant response.”
“Forget all the other stuff about titles and résumé etc.,” Aspinall quote tweeted. “I just think I can beat you in a fight mate, but if you don’t want to, I won’t keep chasing you.”
Aspinall, 30, recently shared that he expects the winner of the aforementioned Blaydes and the rising contender, Jailton Almeida, to be his most realistic next opponent. Until then, fans will just have to keep enjoying the banter between fighters who will never fight and hope UFC gets a change of heart.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
