Tom Aspinall updated fans on the current state of affairs with the UFC and Jon Jones.
Interim UFC heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall is prepared to move on from Jon Jones if fight talks don’t make significant progress in the coming weeks.
Since Jones defended his heavyweight championship against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, the UFC brass has been hard at work trying to make a fight between Jones and Aspinall come to fruition. But negotiations are proving to be more drawn out than the matchmakers probably anticipated, despite teases from Jones and Aspinall that they made previous progress.
An initially rumored $30 million paycheck desired by Jones was quickly shut down by Dana White. In either case, Jones and Aspinall will likely make big payouts for a heavyweight booking to unify their titles.
Aspinall is becoming increasingly impatient with the waiting game that Jones is playing and admitted he’s prepared to move on.
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Tom Aspinall doubles down on retiring Jon Jones as fight talks stall
During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Aspinall updated fans on the state of the Jones fight negotiations.
“Where we’re at right now, is I have spoken to the UFC on multiple occasions about this fight. I’m chasing up, and I want the fight,” Aspinall said of the Jones fight talks. “Been on record saying I want the fight, been on the phone with the UFC saying I want the fight. ‘When’s the fight? I want it more than anyone’. What’s holding it up is his side, that’s the truth of it…Does he want to put himself in a position where he’s comfortable enough financially to take the risk that he’s taking to fight me? And that’s where we’re at. The UFC tells me, they’ve shown me, that they’re doing everything they can to make this fight. So it’s totally, as far as I’m aware, it’s totally down to Jon Jones and his team to work it out.
“Remember what I said quite a while ago now? I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him, that’s what I said,” Aspinall continued. “Jon, let’s do it! If you want to do it, you don’t have to ask me twice. If not, I’ll fight somebody else for the undisputed belt. Happy to fight anybody. Anyone, anytime, anywhere. Doesn’t matter, I’m ready to go.”
Aspinall defended the interim heavyweight championship against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 last July. He won the interim belt by finishing Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.
Jon Jones remains hesitant in signing the dotted line to face Tom Aspinall
Jones teased a ‘major announcement earlier this year, which many fans initially believed had to do with Aspinall. But it turned out to be a promotional campaign for a healthcare issue he was bringing awareness to.
White and the matchmakers are prepared to strip Jones if negotiations for the Aspinall fight don’t progress. That would likely result in Aspinall being promoted to the undisputed champion, and he’d face another top contender such as Ciryl Gane.
After initially teasing training with Alex Pereira, Jones and Pereira likely won’t train together anytime soon amidst fight speculation. Pereira wants at least one heavyweight fight in the UFC before he hangs up the gloves.
As of this writing, Aspinall vs. Jones remains in a holding pattern, although we could get an update from the UFC headman in the coming weeks.