Jon Jones dismisses Aspinall. Jon Jones recently opened up about why he’s lukewarm on a fight with UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall and it has nothing to do with money. According to Jones, Aspinall’s last performance left him unimpressed, questioning whether it’s even necessary for him to take the fight.
Jones specifically referenced the eye-poke no-contest between Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, suggesting that Aspinall may have leaned into the incident. He wasn’t shy about his critique, calling Aspinall “a one-trick pony” and going as far as saying his wrestling and jiu-jitsu are incredibly overrated.
“His last situation with Ciryl Gane, he gets poked in the eye, normally you see fighters [checking their eye] or trying to get the doctor to look at it,” Jones said on the Geoffrey Woo podcast. “Actually initially the doctor’s like ‘he seems fine’ and Tom’s like ‘no, I can’t fight, I can’t see.’ The guy wasn’t trying to see. The guy didn’t want to see.
“Another thing was the eye that he was covering appeared to be the eye that didn’t get penetrated. One eye, the finger goes all the way underneath the eyelid. The other eye was on top of the eyelid and he ends up grabbing the eye where the finger was on top of the eyelid. I don’t even think Tom really knew which eye was supposed to be more compromised. He just knew that he had been fouled, and it was his way out.”
Jones still complimented Aspinall as a fighter and while he said a matchup between them would be awesome Jones emphasized that it’s not something he feels compelled to make happen. He cited a greater interest in fighting Alex Pereira, whom he sees as a more meaningful opponent for his legacy.
“I still think Tom is an amazing athlete,” Jones said. “I think he’s a great fighter. Recon is really important. Having information on what you’re going up against is really important. I feel like time is on my side to figure out who this opponent is. If we still fight, it would be awesome. “I don’t feel like I need him, especially after his last performance. I think time will show the world who I am, what I’ve done and just because someone’s newer or maybe more exciting doesn’t mean that they replace what is already here”.
In the end, Jon Jones is sending a clear message to the heavyweight division that he’s not chasing anyone. Whether fans want to see him clash with Tom Aspinall or not, Jones believes his legacy is already built and only the biggest, most meaningful fights deserve his attention. Aspinall may be the rising force, but for now, Jones is standing firm, reminding the world that champions don’t move on hype, they move on history. And in his eyes, Tom Aspinall still has a long way to go to be part of his.
