Tom Aspinall came face to face with the man he most wants to fight in the UFC, Jon Jones, during a recent Arnold Festival which took place in Birmingham, England.
Tom Aspinall was there to do and meet-and-greet with fans alongside his interim heavyweight title, while ‘Bones’ was in attendance for a reason yet to be confirmed.
Since the Mancunian won the interim title against Sergei Pavlovich, he has called for a clash with Jones to unify the title. The pair have shared words online, and while fans may have had a sense of anticipation for the face-off between the two heavyweights, the combat sports athletes remained cordial.
The only moment that could likely have kicked things off between the pair would have been when Tom Aspinall placed his hand on the shoulder of ‘Bones’. The interim champion was interviewed following the face-off, where he stated that he meant no disrespect.
He said this:
“I think he thought I was putting my hand on his shoulder being disrespectful. But I wasn’t there to be disrespectful. I was doing it in a friendly way, I’m not trying to cause any beef. I’m trying to fight the guy and take his belt. I have no beef with the guy and just wanted to meet him.”
Watch Tom Aspinall’s interview below from 0:45:
Tom Aspinall believes he “could take” Jon Jones after coming face-to-face with him
Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall are arguably the two best fighters in the heavyweight division.
Jones was set to defend his heavyweight title against Miocic at UFC 295 but suffered a torn pectoral muscle and tendon a month prior to their clash.
Aspinall took on Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice interim title fight as a replacement bout for the original heavyweight title fight, which the Mancunian won via first-round knockout.
While the interim champion campaigned for a clash with ‘Bones’ for weeks after defeating Pavlovich, he recently shared that he had moved on from the potential bout.
After coming face-to-face with Jones in England, the 30-year-old shared his thoughts on the interaction, saying this:
“He’s nowhere near as big as I thought, I thought he was a lot taller. But I guess when you’re fighting light heavyweights your full career, and you’re six foot four inches, you look really tall… I’ll take that one. I think I beat him definitely.”
Watch Tom Aspinall reflect on meeting Jon Jones below:
