The back-and-forth between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall shows no sign of slowing.
Both men hold heavyweight gold in their possession, with Aspinall knocking out Sergei Pavlovich to earn interim champion status in late 2023.
While that would have normally set up a unification clash between the two titleholders, Jones has repeatedly dismissed fighting Aspinall and instead teased retirement.
The situation has sparked widespread frustration among MMA fans and led to frequent exchanges between the two champs.
And the latest came about when Jones sent Aspinall an insincere thanks for boosting his UK fanbase and allowing him to make history with a seminar in Phuket, Thailand.
Tom Aspinall reminds Jones that he’s a good guy — and that Jones is ‘ducking’
After plenty of the interim champion’s supporters made their feelings known in response, Aspinall himself appeared in the comments section.
Having previously questioned Jones’ animosity toward him, the Englishman jokingly reiterated to his rival that he’s a good person.
“My pleasure Jon. Told you I’m not an a——. Glad you’re enjoying retirement,” Aspinall wrote on X.
And that wasn’t the only reminder that Aspinall sent.
The Brit finished the post with a duck emoji, once again referencing his belief that Jones is ‘ducking’ their title unification fight.
Tom Aspinall attended UFC event with a duck to poke fun at Jon Jones
The recent response on X was far from the first time that a duck has entered the Jones vs Aspinall discussion.
After repeatedly stirring up talk that Jones is ducking him by potentially choosing retirement over a third fight at heavyweight, the Brit made the most of an opportunity to make use of the claim at UFC London in March.
When the broadcast showed him in attendance, Aspinall trolled Jones by holding a rubber duck.
In early May, Jones directly responded to the ducking allegations after being hounded by fans during a livestream.
“I’ve got people in the chat calling me a duck, meanwhile I’m living my absolute best life,” Jones responded.
“I don’t know if it’s considered as ducking when you’re living good. I don’t think it works like that,” he continued.