Jon Jones is receiving shots not only from the majority of the UFC fanbase, but one of the sport’s biggest current stars has also criticized his recent antics.
The heavyweight title unification saga between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall has now reached its most confusing point as Jones recently appeared to announce his retirement in a Twitter storm.
Despite that, following a blockbuster UFC 316 this past Saturday, UFC boss Dana White answered questions from the media regarding the current state of the potential heavyweight title unification fight.
Although White was unaware of Jones’ recent activity on social media, the UFC boss claimed that Jones did previously accept a fight against Aspinall.
Paddy Pimblett sends a shot at Jon Jones during training session with Tom Aspinall
Despite that, White did go on to explain how difficult Jones is to negotiate with, comparing him to fellow UFC legend, Anderson Silva.
Even though White stated that ‘Bones’ did previously verbally accept a fight against the British interim champion, rumors have surfaced that the 37-year-old went back on his word and admitted to the UFC that he is no longer interested in fighting Aspinall.
And with Jones’ continuing to delay the potential fight, he has received criticism from the UFC fanbase, as well as one of the biggest stars in the sport currently, Paddy Pimblett.
“Obviously Tom is the f—— best heavyweight in the world. Especially the best f—— active heavyweight in the world,” Pimblett said in a recent video on his YouTube channel.
At the end of his training session with Aspinall, who has been training intensely throughout the heavyweight saga, Pimblett spoke to the champion about his potential fight against ‘Bones’.
“Everybody reaches a sell by date, don’t they? Everybody has got a time limit, he’s reached it and we move on,” Aspinall said.
“I reckon anyone else in that position would have been stripped… He should be stripped now,” Pimblett continued.
Paddy Pimblett believes Jon Jones has let down the entire MMA world
Bizarrely, according to reputable MMA journalist, Ariel Helwani, Jones isn’t looking to completely retire from the sport and is interested in continuing to fight but just isn’t interested in fighting Aspinall.
“The fact he’s not stepping up and fighting you, he’s let the whole MMA fanbase down. And it’s even more in that case when you’re the reigning heavyweight champion of the world and you’ve got someone holding interim,” Pimblett said.