Jon Jones was not too impressed when Dana White suggested that he may have to fight one of his greatest rivals after his fight on Saturday night.
The legendary two-division world champion faces Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in the main event of UFC 309. But despite his opponent’s legendary status as a two-time former heavyweight title holder, the build-up has been completely overshadowed by interim champion Tom Aspinall.
Manchester native Aspinall has been in New York making a nuisance of himself throughout the week, but opted against going to Thursday night’s press conference. However, his presence was felt deeply, and mention of his name invoked rapturous applause.
Jon Jones fumes after Dana White declares UFC 309 winner will face Tom Aspinall
During the press conference for UFC 309, questions were put to Dana White and the main event fighters regarding the status of a potential title unification at heavyweight for the winner. The Brit not only won but defended his interim title since Jon Jones picked up the vacant strap in March of last year.
And when White replied that “the winner should absolutely fight Tom,” the Theater at Madison Square Garden erupted in support of Aspinall. But Jones didn’t seem impressed, angrily telling fans chanting for his rival to “knock it off”.
It follows comments from White on The Jim Rome Show where he declared that Jones will only fight in the UFC again if it against Aspinall. The heavyweight champion has regularly claimed that he would rather fight Alex Pereira, but the promotional boss reckons it’s not a fight he will make.
“If he wins, he’ll disappear for a while and the competitive spirit will start bubbling up again,” White said of Jones. “And then money will talk. If he doesn’t decide to retire, he absolutely, positively fights Aspinall. He’s not fighting Pereira.
“He was a middleweight who moved up to light heavyweight. He’s also a kickboxer who has done very, very well in MMA. His wrestling isn’t even near the level of Jon Jones, and Jon Jones is way bigger than him. If Jon Jones want to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall.”
Jon Jones has claimed that he will never ‘do business’ with Tom Aspinall
However, the matchup really doesn’t seem to appeal to Jones at all. Having beaten the best at light-heavyweight before moving up and becoming champion in a second division, he is more keen to cement his legacy by facing major names, even if they are not prime opponents.
On top of that idea, he has also decided that Aspinall, as well as his rowdy British fan base, have been disrespectful in their efforts to earn a fight. He even branded the famously polite Brit an ‘a**hole’ during an intense media day on Wednesday.
“If I’m being completely honest, I feel like Tom’s been such an a**hole that I don’t want to do business with him,” Jones said. “His fans have been so annoying. Obviously, you don’t get this far in a career being affected by fans and whatnot.
“But he’s just an a**hole. He’s 31, so he’s from this influencer generation where you hop online and the T-shirt sales and all that. I’m past that type of stuff. I’m like, ‘Bro, if you had a little bit more respect, then maybe we could’ve worked something out.’
“But I just don’t want to even do business with him. At the end of the day, this is a business. Fighting me gives him an opportunity to change his life forever. And I don’t even wanna give him the opportunity. He just played his cards wrong with me, personally.”
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