Heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently battled Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title and won. The fight was scheduled to go on earlier this year, but Jones sustained an injury and had to withdraw. During his time away, Tom Aspinall took on the role of interim champion for the division and fought against Ciryl Gane to defend his title. Since Jones’ return, Aspinall has been asking for a battle, but Jones’ says he has bigger fish to fry.
“Bones” delivered a spectacular performance at UFC 309 with a spinning backkick finish to retain his belt. Although many considered his performance impressive, interim champion Tom Aspinall says the champ has been avoiding him and can’t wait to be in to share the octagon with him.
“Well, when Jon Jones was giving his speech, I was looking directly at the UFC brass, Dana [White] and Hunter [Campbell],” Aspinall said on the UFC 309 post-fight show. “Both of them turned to me at the same time and pointed at me, and winked. At the same time. So to me, that says there’s something big in the pipeline.
“This is the biggest fight in the UFC. This is massive. It is potentially one of the biggest fights in MMA right now. If that doesn’t interest Jon Jones, then I don’t know what else we can do. Everybody knows that this is the fight to make. This is the fight that the people want. This is the fight the UFC wants, and it is the fight that the fans want. And, this is the fight that has to happen now.”
Although Aspinall is eager for a fight, Jones does not believe a fight with the interim champion will impact his career. The fight has a legacy of 28 wins, with his latest being his third-round knockout triumph over Stipe Miocic. He plans to solidify himself in MMA history by battling Alex Pereira. However, Aspinall believes the fighter should take him on before pursuing other bouts in the promotion.
“I spoke to the UFC brass a little bit, I’m going to speak to them a little bit more, and in my opinion, obviously I’m a little bit biased, but I think this is the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history,” Aspinall said. “This is what the people want to see.”
“It was, as you American guys say, by design,” Aspinall said. “It was exactly like I thought. And, It was exactly what I thought would happen. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if Jon could finish him. I thought maybe it was going to be a five-rounder at that kind of pace. Jon picked him off, Jon kept his range, and Jon walked him backwards. Jon mixing up the attacks between the head, the body, the legs, the spinning back kicks to the body, the wrestling, he does it all incredibly well.
Aspinall feels he has what it takes to beat Jones. He says he has devised a game plan after watching Jones fight. The Brit was an audience member at the Jones vs Miocic bout and said he paid close attention to the champ’s strategy in preparation for their fight.
“I think to beat Jon Jones, the most important thing you need is good eyes. Good reactions, quick reactions. Be able to see everything, do everything, and react really quickly. In all honestly, Stipe Miocic—and this is said with a load of respect—he just didn’t have that at 42 years old.”
Aspinall is fully prepared for whatever Jones might throw at him in the octagon in their eventual matchup. The interim champion says he has never seen the heavyweight champion fight in person before, but he was pretty impressed by his performance. He says he has acquired enough insight into the fighter’s strategy and believes he will be the first to give Jones a proper beatdown.
“I definitely see openings,” Aspinall said. “Whether I can do it or not, I don’t know. From the outside looking in, I think I can.”
