Tom Aspinall has weighed in on the growing controversy between Jon Jones and the UFC, and the heavyweight champion believes the former two-division king deserves better treatment.
Jones ignited a firestorm earlier this week after posting a lengthy message on social media demanding to be released from his UFC contract. The post came after Dana White dismissed the idea that Jones was ever considered for the upcoming White House event during the UFC 326 post-fight press conference.
The situation quickly became one of the biggest talking points in MMA. During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Tom Aspinall shared his honest reaction to Jones’ public frustration with the UFC.
“This is probably going to be crazy to a lot of people listening, but why is the UFC not giving Jon the respect he deserves financially? That’s crazy to me,” Aspinall said.
“If anyone should be getting paid a lot in this sport, it should be Jon Jones for the stuff that he’s done. And that’s me saying that! After the history that I’ve had with Jon Jones.”
Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones were previously linked to a heavyweight title unification bout, a matchup many fans hoped would determine the division’s true champion. However, the fight never materialized after lengthy negotiations between Jones and the UFC stalled.
Before stepping away from competition, Jon Jones had been expected to face Tom Aspinall in a blockbuster heavyweight title unification fight. Instead, negotiations dragged on without a deal.
According to Aspinall, the financial side of the negotiations remains puzzling.
“They offered him $30 million to fight me. Why don’t they offer it again? I don’t understand,” Aspinall said.
The British champion’s comments surprised many fans, particularly given the tense history between the two fighters. Jones previously mocked Aspinall following the champion’s no-contest bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
Despite that rivalry, Tom Aspinall appears to believe the UFC should reward Jones for his long list of accomplishments. Jones’ longtime manager, Malki Kawa, also spoke publicly about the failed negotiations.
During an appearance on The Anik & Florian Podcast, Kawa explained that talks with the UFC did take place but ultimately broke down over money.
“I don’t know if that’s true because there was a negotiation there also as well,” Kawa said.
“It just kind of didn’t go anywhere after a while. Wednesday I got asked, ‘Would you guys want to do this or that?’ And we said, ‘Absolutely.’ They gave us a number. We said, ‘Absolutely not.’ And then we didn’t hear anything after that.”
Kawa also suggested the UFC was exploring several options at the same time while building the White House event.
“They couldn’t get there and then fell apart, so they moved on to other stuff,” Kawa said. “I do believe when I got that call on Wednesday they were talking to everybody.”
Jon Jones has not competed since defeating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. He later vacated the UFC heavyweight title after revealing that severe arthritis in his hip could require surgery.
For now, Tom Aspinall continues to rule the heavyweight division while the future of Jon Jones remains uncertain.
Still, the champion’s latest comments make one thing clear, Tom Aspinall believes that even amid the controversy, the UFC should show greater respect to one of the sport’s most accomplished fighters.
