Written by Tom Aspinall | Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images
Tom Aspinall is calling it like it is.
Saturday’s UFC 309 main event features heavyweight champion Jon Jones taking on Stipe Miocic in what is being billed as a clash of legends, with Jones being widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all-time and Miocic holding the record for most title defenses (4) by a heavyweight in UFC history.
Notably not part of the headliner is Aspinall, the reigning interim heavyweight champion that has frequently called for Jones to meet him in a unification bout. Jones and Miocic were originally scheduled to fight 12 months ago, but the bout was postponed due to Jones suffering a pectoral injury. The UFC decided to stay the course with the matchup, leaving Aspinall to defend his title in the meantime while still carrying the interim tag.
Aspinall is set to weigh in as a backup for Saturday, but he still wonders why it’s not him vs. Jones in the first place.
“Big heavyweight title fight this weekend,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “Bit of a strange one because in all honesty, who is really that interested in this fight being a title fight? I’ve never said anything about Jon Jones’ career or Stipe’s career and I never will. I respect what they’ve done in their careers. Amazing careers. What I’ve got against this fight in particular is it’s contested for an undisputed heavyweight title.
“For me, and I’m seeing online for a lot of other people, this is far from undisputed. This is the most disputed title that you can possibly get because it’s two champions and one of the champions, Jon Jones, is avoiding the other champion, me. He’s chosen to fight a 42-year-old Stipe, who’s had a fantastic career, both guys have had fantastic careers, great legacy, but let’s be honest, these are two old farts fighting each other for a title and occupying it, which is a bit weird.”
Jones has been quick to refute the notion that he’s “ducking” a fight with Aspinall, though he also hasn’t committed to ever fighting the interim champion. The possibility of retirement looms for the 37-year-old and he has also shown interest in fighting light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Jones has repeatedly said he’s interested in enhancing his legacy, which includes his legendary 2011-2020 run that saw him establish himself as not only the best to ever compete at 205 pounds, but arguably the best to ever compete in MMA, period.
To Aspinall, none of that matters, as he’s focused solely on settling the debate of who is truly the No. 1 heavyweight right now.
“The thing with Jon is he’s a bit like a politician,” Aspinall said. “He likes to control the narrative of what fans think. I have never once come after Jon’s legacy. I think it’s unbelievable, I think his legacy is going to be superior to mine and most of the guys who are fighting in the UFC. Never had a problem with his legacy. I’ve never had a problem with him, personally.
“The problem is he has the heavyweight title and I’m the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. Since I’ve been a young boy, since I first started training, me and my dad have had this dream that I’m going to be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion of the world and he’s got it and he’s holding it hostage and he won’t fight me for it. This is nothing against Jon, this is nothing against his legacy, this is nothing against his career, this is nothing against who he’s fighting, what he’s fighting for, if he’s fighting for money, for legacy, for fame, whatever. This is because I want the belt and he’s got it. That’s all I’m after. That’s all I give a shit about is me being the undisputed, No. 1 heavyweight walking around on planet Earth and he’s avoiding me.”
Aspinall is currently the No. 1 heavyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while Jones and Miocic are absent from the list due to crossing the 18-month inactivity threshold (Miocic has not fought since March 2021).
Despite Aspinall holding several highlight-reel wins over the best of the heavyweight division, Jones has dismissed him as an intriguing challenger, which actually makes sense to Aspinall given Jones’ recent past.
“People are starting to act surprised, ‘Jon’s a duck, Jon’s a duck, this, that, and the other,’” Aspinall said. “Jon Jones ducked Francis Ngannou for three years. Don’t be surprised that this guy always takes fights where he’s at the advantage. And that’s not me getting at Jon, these are the facts of it. Jon’s a very touchy guy and he likes to be smart about his approach and control the narrative of fans by saying he’s the GOAT—which he’s definitely got a case for—by saying, ‘This guy Tom Aspinall’s a nobody.’
“I’m a nobody who has a No. 1 ranking and has finished five of the top-10 guys in the first round. I’m one of them top-10 guys, so that’s nine guys. Five of them I’ve beat in the first round, so there’s only four guys left in the top 10 who I haven’t beat. So I ain’t coming just for Jon Jones, I’m coming for the belt. Whoever has the belt is who I want to fight if I’m not the champion.”
All Aspinall can do now is wait for the Jones vs. Miocic rivalry to finally be resolved and see if the winner sticks around. If it’s Jones, Aspinall hopes that logic prevails and that “Bones” finally agrees to face him.
“Jon said I need to fight more champions, but this is the problem I’ve got,” Aspinall said. “Jon is the champion and he won’t fight me and he says that he won’t fight me because it’s too much of a gamble.”
“And Jon, if you’re not into gambling your legacy, that to me sounds like you’re scared of losing against me,” Aspinall added.