Tom Aspinall – Syndication Server

UFC CEO Dana White on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall: ‘It’s done, but it’s not done’

UFC CEO Dana White has revealed that Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is close to the finish line.

UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has revealed that [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is close to the finish line.

White has spent the months since Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) defended his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November claiming that he would make good on booking a unification bout with interim champion Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC).

There has been impatience displayed by Aspinall and the fans waiting for an answer on whether Jones would agree to the fight or vacate and retire, allowing Aspinall to become undisputed champion.

White, however, has been largely steadfast in his confidence it would get done, recently telling MMA Junkie that he’s focused on a summer timeline. Now he’s dropped another promising teaser, claiming that the only remaining object – albeit a massively significant one – is putting pen to paper.

“It’s going to happen,” White told TNT Sports on Friday. “It’s done, but it’s not done. Not done enough to sit right here now and announce it and give you a date. But fight’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of getting it signed now.

“If we pull this off and actually make the fight, announce it and start leading up to it, this will be the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history.”

In December, White said he 100 percent guaranteed everyone would get what they want and Jones would face Aspinall in the highly anticipated contest. The primary question, though, was whether Jones in particular would get what he wants.

After stating he wanted “f*ck you money” to fight Aspinall after UFC 309, the rumored and unconfirmed price tag demands from Jones have be tabbed at as high as $30 million.

Whatever is ultimately negotiated remains to be seen, but White once against expressed stern adamance that the heavyweight title picture will get its resolution sooner than later.

“I said it when we first started talking about it and I’ve said it many times in between, and I’ll say it now,” White said. “The fight’s going to happen.”

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UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall thinks Curtis Blaydes win should be considered legit title defense

UFC interim champion Tom Aspinall wonders if he’s already notched his first official title defense.

UFC interim champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] wonders if he’s already notched his first official title defense.

Aspinall is just over a month away from surpassing Renan Barao’s record of holding the interim title at 535 days. Aspinall claimed the interim belt with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November 2023, and has since defended it with a first-round TKO of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July.

Chomping at the bit to get his title-unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC), Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) will meet with company brass in London this week to seek answers.

“I don’t know. You see, it gets a bit complicated with that because to be the best heavyweight ever, you only need three title defenses, and do I have one or not?” Aspinall told The Schmo. “I don’t know. I’m not sure. But I think I should have one because it was a legit title defense, but it was for an interim title, and it becomes a bit weird. So these are the questions I’m going to be asking the UFC.”

After finishing Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jones said he would need “f*ck you” money to consider facing Aspinall over Alex Pereira. But after Pereira lost his light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, Aspinall says Jones now has no other choice but to fight him.

“I’m an Alex Pereira fan. I love his style. I love the run he has been on,” Aspinall said in a one-on-one interview with Adam Catterall. “I really respect where he’s come from and everything like that, but it couldn’t have happened at a better time for me, personally.

“There’s nowhere to go for Johnny. He either has to fight me or retire now. If he does retire, everyone knows that he will have been avoiding me. Literally, there isn’t another fight for Jon at the moment, so it works out pretty good.”

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Michael Bisping sympathizes with Tom Aspinall, tells UFC champ Jon Jones to ‘hurry up or retire’

Michael Bisping thinks UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones needs to make a decision about his fighting future.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] thinks UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] needs to make a decision about his fighting future.

After finishing Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 this past November, Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) struggled to get up for a title-unification bout with interim champ [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), saying he needed “f*ck you” money to consider him over Alex Pereira.

But after Alex Pereira lost his light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, Aspinall’s hopes of finally getting Jones fight may have increased. The Brit has already defended his interim title with a TKO of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July.

“Not that Tom wants any sympathy from me, but I really feel for the guy,” Bisping said in an interview with talkSPORT. “He’s in the prime of his life. He should be fighting regularly. He’s in the gym every day. He’s very humble. He is the interim champion of the world. He’s defended the interim championship status. The heavyweight champion of the world fought in November. Why they haven’t made this matchup is beyond me.”

MMA reporter Ariel Helwani claimed Jones is asking for a six-month training camp to fight Aspinall, which would delay their potential fight to the end of the year. Considering Aspinall is on the verge of breaking Renan Barao’s record for longest-reigning interim UFC champion, Bisping can’t fathom the delay.

“Jones has had an incredible career,” Bisping said. “You only need two months for a fight camp. I don’t understand that at all. I, for the life of me, don’t understand why this fight isn’t being made, and if they don’t announce it soon, then they’re really going to talk about stripping this guy. Simply, I mean, any other sport, if this was boxing, you would be stripped. If you don’t fight the mandatory challenger, you will be stripped. … It’s just madness.”

Bisping thinks a six-month training camp for Jones could jeopardize the fight ever happening.

“If Jon is going to train with some big heavyweights for six months, you’ve got a really good chance of getting injured and doing what he did last time,” Bisping said. “And if he was to have to pull out again, then there’s got to be some very, very serious decisions made, because otherwise – you could just fake an injury, couldn’t you? If you didn’t want the fight to happen – not that I’m saying (Jones) would; I’m not.

“I’m saying that at some point, you can’t keep doing that. Jon Jones wouldn’t do that. Jones is, you know, it’s easy to criticize the fact that the fight isn’t happening (yet). You can’t criticize what he’s done inside the octagon. You just can’t, and I know a lot of people think that he waited around for Francis Ngannou. I don’t necessarily buy that. He’s been an incredible champion, but he needs to hurry up with this fight, simple as that, or retire.”

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Tom Aspinall surprised ‘uneducated fans’ thought Alex Pereira beat Magomed Ankalaev

Tom Aspinall can’t understand how certain people scored the UFC 313 main event in favor of Alex Pereira.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] can’t understand how certain people scored the UFC 313 main event in favor of [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) defeated Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) by unanimous decision to become light heavyweight champion earlier this month at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Media outlets were almost split in their scoring of the fight (h/t MMA Decisions), with nine members awarding Pereira the fight. Interim UFC heavyweight champion Aspinall finds it baffling that anyone could have thought Pereira won.

“I think Ankalaev just had him guessing a lot,” Aspinall said in an interview with JNMediaUK. “I think Pereira’s level on the ground, I don’t know what level he’s at, but I think he’s still a bit wary of getting taken down. He definitely defended the takedowns well, but me with an educated eye watching it, I don’t think Ankalaev was really trying to take him down that much. He definitely tried a couple of times. I think he did 10 or 11 takedown attempts, but I would say only two or three of them he went full blast.

“I think the rest of the time, he was trying to tire him out with the grappling standing, like the cage grappling stuff. I think Ankalaev had the perfect game plan. He didn’t overcommit, tired him out. I can’t believe people watched that fight and thought that Pereira won. It was just wild to me how many uneducated fans are out there and how many uneducated fans thought it was a boring fight, as well. I thought it was an amazing fight, both guys did good, and I think Ankalaev was just a lot better than him on the night. That’s it.”

Pereira’s loss may have served Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) well as he eagerly waits for his title-unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. However, Aspinall still thinks Pereira could move up to heavyweight down the line.

“He can do whatever he wants, can’t he? He’s an absolute megastar,” Aspinall said of Pereira. “I think there’s fights to be made at middleweight, light heavy or heavy for him. He can do whatever he wants.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.

Overreaction Time: UFC 313 Alex Pereira’s downfall?, Dana White holding back UFC?, more!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” covering Alex Pereira’s loss to Magomed Ankalaev, Dana White venturing into boxing, and more.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie Radio host “Gorgeous” George Garcia debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

UFC 313: [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] has only himself to blame for losing to [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag].
UFC 313: Alex Pereira will bounce back and win one more UFC championship.
No more BS: [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] MUST fight [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], or his legacy will take a hit.
UFC 313: [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] getting the next title shot would be absurd.
[autotag]Dana White[/autotag] diving into boxing sucks for boxing.
The UFC product will keep suffering with Dana White in charge.

Watch the full episode in the video above.

Tom Aspinall teases Jon Jones fight news after Alex Pereira’s UFC 313 loss: ‘Everything is now done’

Tom Aspinall claims UFC has come to terms with Jon Jones for their title unifier and the next step is finding a date and venue.

After UFC CEO Dana White told MMA Junkie on Saturday that he’s “very confident” the [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] heavyweight title unifier happens this summer, the interim champ has provided more reason for excitement.

Aspinall released a video blog Sunday on his YouTube channel reacting to [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] losing the light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 headliner, and indicated that result will be majorly beneficial for him.

Prior to UFC 313 fight week beginning, Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) said Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) was “holding up” negotiations, perhaps to see if Pereira would win and set up a fight between them. But the momentum behind Jones vs. Pereira is now largely dead, and Aspinall revealed off the back of White’s comments that a deal has been reached.

“(Jones vs. Pereira is) off the table now,” Aspinall said. “The Alex Pereira fight at heavyweight, or any other weight, really – I mean, I guess he could still fight him at light heavyweight, really. I guess. But it won’t be for a title. Yeah – Jon: There’s only one thing to do, mate. Sign the contract and let’s get a date going. We’ve seen last night Dana White was talking. Everything is now done on Jon’s side and the UFC now have to find a date and a venue, a place, location. So we’re waiting for that. We’ve got some good news coming soon, hopefully.”

Aspinall said Pereira looked “stiff” in his defeat to Ankalaev at UFC 313. He also claimed he would’ve finished Pereira in the moment where Ankalaev wobbled him late in the second round. Overall, he though it was a “comfortable” victory for Ankalaev by 48-47 or 49-46 scorecards.

With Pereira no longer a threat to potentially steal his fight against Jones, Aspinall said he thinks a rematch with Ankalaev is his most logical career decision.

“Alex Pereira’s run as champion is done for now,” Aspinall said. “In my opinion, immediate rematch should be there next. Alex Pereira’s a massive, massive star in the sport of MMA. Massive. Lost it, lost his title, but the run that he has been on is warranted for an immediate rematch, in my opinion. Magomed Ankalaev, to me, looks like he’s got his number. It looks like the same thing could happen again, in my opinion. I want to see it again. I absolutely want to see that fight again. It was a great fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.

Dana White quashes remaining Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira talk after UFC 313

With Alex Pereira losing his title at UFC 313, there goes any chance of a fight with Jon Jones – according to Dana White.

LAS VEGAS – There was growing belief among MMA pundits that, if [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] won at UFC 313, he could steal the [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] fight from [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Not anymore.

That’s because Pereira’s reign as UFC light heavyweight champion came to an end after he was dethroned by Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 main event Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Sure, Jones late last year expressed his desire to make what he described as a “legacy” fight with Pereira instead of unifying the heavyweight title against interim champ Aspinall. But after UFC 313, [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] seemed to indicate that Pereira never was seriously in position to challenge Jones even if he’d successfully come through with his fourth consecutive title defense.

“When you’re trying to ask a guy to move up two weight classes to heavyweight and take on the greatest of all time … there’s still tough guys to fight in the light heavyweight division,” White said of Pereira during the UFC 313 post-event news conference. “I believe in moving up after you clean out divisions. And this division wasn’t cleaned out yet.”

With any remaining talk of Jones vs. Pereira quashed by White, the UFC boss remains intent on booking Jones vs. Aspinall this summer.

Just this week, Aspinall released a video on YouTube in which he blamed Jones for holding up the fight. When asked about it, White wouldn’t elaborate on what Aspinall was talking about but expressed confidence in getting the fight done.

“Listen, Jon Jones definitely wants the fight,” White said. “Just when and where is what we’re working on now. … I’m very confident that fight happens.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.

Michael Bisping: Tom Aspinall should be wary after Alex Pereira changed tune on Jon Jones

Michael Bisping warns Tom Aspinall that Alex Pereira could go after Jon Jones following UFC 313.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] warns [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] that [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] could go after [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] following UFC 313.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) defends his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+).

Bisping is confident Pereira calls out Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) with a win at UFC 313 after “Poatan” recently said that training with Jones wouldn’t make sense.

“Of course Pereira now is talking about Jon Jones,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He said, a while ago, it made sense for me to want to train with Jon Jones, but it doesn’t make sense for Jon Jones anymore. OK, what does that mean?

“Well, I’m just saying, I’m the biggest fan of Tom Aspinall, and he’s a personal friend, but if I’m Tom Aspinall, I’m starting now to – not get worried, because that’s just not in his nature. But if Pereira was to win at the weekend, do it in his signature fashion and get another highlight reel knockout and then on the microphone to call out Jon Jones, the whole world loses its mind, right?”

Jones himself said that he’d rather face Pereira next over interim champ Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who has grown impatient waiting for his title unification bout.

“I think the fight to make in the heavyweight division is, of course, without a shadow of a doubt, without a question, it doesn’t need any conversation, it’s Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones for the undisputed vs. the interim,” Bisping said.

“That’s the fight that has to happen. I’m just saying, with a bit of fanfare from Alex Pereira and a willingness from Jon Jones, it just could happen. Am I crazy? Am I out of my mind? If anyone could make the fight happen, it’s Alex Pereira.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.

UFC’s Paul Felder: Jon Jones ‘looks like he’s ducking’ Tom Aspinall

UFC analyst Paul Felder stopped just short of claiming Jon Jones is scared of Tom Aspinall.

UFC commentator [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] is growing concerned about the status of [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Anticipation for a heavyweight title unification bout between Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) and interim champ Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has been building for more than a year. UFC CEO Dana White guaranteed it would happen in December, but the latest update from Aspinall was much more grim.

Aspinall, 31, recently stated Jones, 37, is “holding up” finalizing the contest, and claimed he would be willing to take another fight as long as it’s for the undisputed belt.

Jones has claimed in the past that he would be content with relinquishing so the division could move on, especially if he could get his preferred matchup with light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira.

Felder, a primary UFC color commentator and analyst as well as co-host of the “Believe You Me” podcast with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, is getting an uneasy feeling about the whole situation.

“I’m starting to get a little nervous for it,” Felder told MMA Junkie. “Now with Pereira getting ready to fight (at UFC 313), if he gets a big win, I think he’s going to get on the mic and he’s going to say, ‘I want to fight Jon Jones.’ If that happens and he gets people enticed about it, then there’s a chance maybe – you know how the UFC is: They want the biggest and best fights. If that seems to be the way that everyone is wanting the fight to go, then maybe that happens.

“That’s a fight that I would love to see, but not when there’s somebody like Tom Aspinall, who is exciting, who is the next generation of these heavyweights, and is somebody that most of us think really could beat Jon. I’m not saying he will, but if there’s a guy out there right now, I think we’re all looking him going, ‘This guy’s got what it takes to be the guy to do it.’ He’s fast, he hits hard as sh*t. That’s the fight we want to see. That’s the biggest fight to make.”

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After capturing the vacant heavyweight title with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane in March 2023, Jones returned from a lengthy injury hiatus in November. He earned a third-round TKO of Stipe Miocic for his first defense, and afterward teased retirement if he didn’t get a fight with Pereira.

Jones, however, slightly left the door open for a fight with Aspinall, claiming he would only do it if paid “f*ck you money” by the UFC brass. Since then, “Bones” has largely remained hum about his future fighting plans.

Although it’s possible fruitful negotiations could be ongoing in private, Felder is struggling to see encouraging signs of progression. That leads him to some bold questions about how Jones is managing the final stages of his career.

“There’s still nothing,” Felder said. “The crazy thing is, it is all in Jon’s corner because he has the negotiating power. He’s the one that can be like, ‘No, I want all this money.’ Where Tom is like, ‘Look, until I fight you and beat you, the ball’s in your court. I’m the interim champ. I’m not the one where I can say I want $25 million to fight Jon.’ Because they’ll just say, ‘No, you’re out, there’s this other guy that can jump in.’ It really is all on Jones and I’m just starting to worry that maybe – I don’t ever want to say anybody like Jon Jones is scared. But it looks like he’s ducking him.

“I think he knows he’s at the end. He’s not scared, but he knows if there’s a chance that things can go sideways, or maybe really bad for his last fight. The guy that’s going to do that is Tom. Alex Pereira is as scary as they come, but Jon’s toolbox against him, there’s many more ways to win.”

To hear more from Felder, check out his complete his appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn in the video above.

Overreaction Time: UFC 313 impact on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, Jose Aldo disrespect, more!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” covering how Alex Pereira’s result at UFC 313 will have a huge impact on the future.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie reporter Danny Segura debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

Forget warnings: Eye pokes should IMMEDIATELY result in a point deduction.
Magomed Ankalaev finishing [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] might be the ONLY WAY to save [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].
UFC 313: Alex Pereira winning by KO would be the PERFECT setup for a fight with Jon Jones.
UFC 313: Win or lose, this should be Alex Pereira’s last fight at light heavyweight.
UFC 313: No, [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] does NOT have to be considered for a title shot.
UFC 315: Considering how [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]’s been booked, he should’ve stayed retired!

Watch the full episode in the video above.