Tom Aspinall is growing increasingly frustrated with the state of the UFC heavyweight division.
Interim UFC heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall continues to wait patiently for the promotion and Jon Jones to seal the deal on a potential fight later this year. Jones, who most recently defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, is asking for a lucrative payday in exchange for facing Aspinall to unify the heavyweight belts.
As Aspinall continues to wait for Jones to sign the dotted line, he kept a close eye on a high-profile heavyweight matchup at UFC Saudi Arabia. His former interim title adversary, Sergei Pavlovich, faced Jairzinho Rozenstruik in what was hyped as a potential banger fight on the main card.
Pavlovich vs. Rozenstruik fell well short of expectations in Riyadh. It was a slow-paced fight from start to finish, forcing UFC CEO Dana White to compare it to some of the worst fights in the promotion’s history.
The ‘snoozefest’ fight came just weeks after another head-scratching heavyweight matchup between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov at UFC 310.
The usually tranquil Aspinall is fed up with sluggish performances from some of the top heavyweights and wants Jones to make their fight happen immediately.
Tom Aspinall slams the state of the heavyweight division after UFC Saudi Arabia
In a recent post to his Instagram story, Aspinall gave a brutally honest assessment of the heavyweight division while watching UFC Saudi Arabia.
“These heavyweight fights lately absolutely stink,” Aspinall posted. “Let’s get some excitement back and stop holding it up.”
As of this writing, Jones hasn’t responded to Aspinall’s comments. White and the matchmakers remain optimistic about booking Jones vs. Aspinall for later this year.
But White threatened to strip Jones of the belt if negotiations continued to stall. That would set up Aspinall to either get promoted as the lineal heavyweight champion or fight against another top contender for the vacant belt.
Aspinall remains undeterred in his stance of not wanting to defend the interim belt again amidst Jones’ absence. He knocked out Curtis Blaydes in his lone interim title defense at UFC 304.
Tom Aspinall agreed to terms on Jon Jones fight despite stalled negotiations
Aspinall says he’s agreed to terms on the Jones fight and is awaiting the lineal heavyweight titleholder’s signoff. White has also denied rumors that Jones is asking for around $30 million to fight Aspinall.
Jones captured the then-vacant UFC heavyweight title by submitting Gane at UFC 285, almost two full years ago. After an injury postponed his first title defense, he finished Miocic in a dominant performance last November.
Aspinall is ready to not only return to the Octagon but potentially snap Jones’ 20-fight unbeaten streak. But the fight remains at a standstill, and the interim titleholder is becoming increasingly frustrated with the hold-up.