Tom Aspinall believes he knows why Jon Jones hasn’t publicly shown interest in fighting him.
Fans have been pounding the table for some clarity in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Jones is the heavyweight titleholder, but Aspinall holds interim gold and has even defended his championship. Following Jones’ own successful title defense at UFC 309, he wouldn’t commit to a title unification bout against Aspinall.
“Bones” even doubled down on wanting a fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira when speaking to reporters. Aspinall has now given his take on why Jones hasn’t been too eager to mention his name.
Tom Aspinall Thinks Jon Jones is Using Business Tactics
While fight fans have accused Jon Jones of ducking Tom Aspinall, the interim champion doesn’t believe that is the case. During a “Fight Lab” special with TNT Sports, Tom Aspinall credited Jones for being a savvy businessman.
“Day one, as a professional UFC fighter, if someone asks you about some other opponent, say I’m fighting [interviewer Adam Catterall] this weekend, if someone asks me, ‘Right, what about this other guy who’s not involved?’ I say, ‘I’m gonna get past Adam and then we’ll speak about him.’
“Jon didn’t do that. Jon immediately starts saying, ‘No, I don’t want to fight Tom,’ which the easiest thing in the world would be, ‘I’m gonna talk about it after Saturday. I’m not talking about it this week,’ but he kept bringing that into the conversation, and that is high-level business, really high level.”
UFC CEO Dana White has said if Jones is to continue his fighting career, then a showdown with Aspinall must be next. White has dismissed the possibility of “Bones” sharing the Octagon with Alex Pereira due to the size difference.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted on what’s next for Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.