Tom Aspinall admits he has ‘had enough’ of waiting for Jon Jones and reveals theories for UFC legend refusing to agree mega-fight
Tom Aspinall is growing restless with Jon Jones’ refusal to commit to what would be the fight of the year.
The British star has not been in action since knocking out Curtis Blaydes in 2024 and was desperately pursuing a showdown with ‘Bones’, who many regard as the greatest fighter of all time.
But Jones has played down Aspinall’s accomplishments at every opportunity and does not seem to want to get in the octagon with the man who has won every single one of his UFC fights by finish.
When asked about the latest on the Jones situation and his own immediate future, Aspinall told the High Performance Podcast: ‘Me, personally, I can’t do anything.
‘I just think it’s down to money on his side. I will fight whenever — whenever, wherever he wants — but it’s down to money I think.
‘I just think that at this stage in his career, he’s had an amazing career, I just think that… he’s like 37, 38 years old, but not only that, he’s got a million miles on the clock.
Tom Aspinall says he’s tired of waiting for Jon Jones to agree to fight him
‘Bones’ has been out since winning the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic last year
‘So he’s got a lot of damage on the body, he’s [taken] a lot of shots to the head. And that’s not me saying anything negative. That’s the reality of it, and I’m sure Jon Jones is aware of that.
On positing that the hold-up is between Jones and the UFC over pay negotiations, the 32-year-old added: ‘When you put him in there with, and I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet, but I’m literally the most dangerous guy in the UFC if you look at the stats.
‘When you put him in with a guy of my size who has them credentials at this stage in his career, I think Jon’s a smart guy and realizes that, so he wants to be compensated financially for it.’
‘I’m well bored of [the Jones conversation]. I’ve had enough. We either need to fight, or I need to move on to something else.’
It seems likely that if Aspinall doesn’t fight Jones, the American will retire from the sport without any other major match-ups for him – other than Alex Pereira, who lost his last outing.
And he would therefore be stripped of the heavyweight title.
Aspinall won the interim belt with a view to fighting for the real title back in November 2023, beating Sergei Pavlovich in New York.
He was then so tired of waiting for Jones that he defended the interim crown against Blaydes on home soil last summer.
The British star defeated Curtis Blaydes in their rematch in Manchester last July
But he is a man in his prime and seemingly not content to wait on the sidelines while Jones offers no indication of progress either way.
Jones vs Aspinall would undoubtedly be the biggest pay-per-view card of the year and no doubt the UFC would love to agree terms.
The heavyweight champion is in a strong negotiating position but evidently there needs to be agreement soon, or Aspinall will simply switch his attention elsewhere.
