Tag: Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall reacts to Jon Jones faceoff: ‘I wasn’t there to be disrespectful’

Tom Aspinall meant no harm when he approached UFC champ Jon Jones at a convention in the U.K.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] meant no harm when he approached [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] during a meet and greet, he said.

UFC interim heavyweight champion Aspinall caught heavyweight champion Jones off guard when he walked over to him during a sponsorship appearance at Arnold’s Sports Festival UK in Birmingham, England. The two had a friendly conversation, but it turned slightly awkward when Jones removed Aspinall’s hand from his shoulder.

Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) says he was just trying to be friendly.

“I think he thought I was putting my hand on his shoulder being disrespectful,” Aspinall said in an interview with JN Media U.K. “But I wasn’t there to be disrespectful. I was doing it in a friendly way, I’m not trying to cause no beef. I’m trying to fight the guy and take his belt. That’s what I want. I have no beef against the guy and just wanted to meet him. Just friendly, nothing crazy.”

It’s no secret Aspinall has been campaigning for a title-unification bout with Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC). However, with the UFC insistent on rebooking Jones vs. Stipe Miocic once Jones comes back from injury, Aspinall won’t hold his breath on a fight with Jones ever happening.

“I don’t think he’s going to fight me anyway,” Aspinall said. “I’d be very, very surprised if me and Jon Jones ever stepped into the octagon together. I’m trying to get the fight, but I’m not like trying to get it realistically. I’m trying to have a bit of fun and see what he’s all about.

“I don’t expect a fight to be off the back of this because in all honesty, I don’t think the UFC is going to go for it, and I don’t think Jon Jones is going to go for it, either. So I’m not deflated at all because I wasn’t expecting the fight anyway.”

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‘I would love to have the honor’: Tom Aspinall surprises Jon Jones at Arnold’s Sports Festival

UFC champs Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall had a tense but mostly respectful encounter at Arnold Sports Festival in Birmingham.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] continues to campaign for a fight vs. [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and Saturday he decided to make his pitch directly to the UFC heavyweight champion’s face.

Both heavyweight stars were on the docket for sponsorship appearances at Arnold’s Sports Festival UK in Birmingham, England, so Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) made it his mission to seek out Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) for a quick chat and photo opportunity.

A video released hours later by Aspinall shows his interaction with Jones, who seemed a bit surprised by the sudden emergence of a fellow heavyweight.

The conversation was brief with Jones removing the hand of Aspinall off his shoulder. While the conversation remained respectful, Jones declined Aspinall’s suggestion to take a faceoff picture. Instead, the two fighters took normally posed photo.

“I would love to have the honor one day,” Aspinall said to Jones.

Jones replied, “Maybe one day,” before he told Aspinall his injury is healing slowly but surely.

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While Jones’ exact return timeline is unknown, the promotion has continually indicated his next challenger will be fellow legend Stipe Miocic.

Aspinall holds the interim title and does not currently have a fight on the books. The promotion is expected to return to Aspinall’s United Kingdom in July, though it is not known if it will be a pay-per-view or a UFC Fight Night event.

Tom Aspinall agrees with Jon Jones’ career advice: ‘I won’t let you hold me back’

Tom Aspinall responds to Jon Jones’ career advice in the wake of the UFC trying to book Stipe Miocic as the next title contender.

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’s recent career advice was well received by [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Despite having conflicting interests, Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) actually agreed with Jones’ comments and suggestions for him in a recent interview.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC), the UFC heavyweight champion, said Aspinall, who holds the interim belt, shouldn’t get hung up on a fight between the two of them.  Instead, Jones, who is recovering from injury, said Aspinall should move forward and continue his fighting career.

The Englishman concurs.

“I agree. I absolutely agree,” Aspinall said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I’ve shown nothing but respect for Jon Jones. I respect him more than a lot of people, put it that way, more than a lot of people. I respect what Jon Jones has done in the sport. It’s incredible. I appreciate the advice. I won’t let you hold me back. Like I said, it doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. This is my journey. This is my path. There’s up and downs to it. This is heavyweight MMA and anything can happen at any time.”

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Aspinall won the UFC interim heavyweight title in November, when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. The usual practice is to have the interim champion face the undisputed in their return to unify the titles. In this instance, however, UFC CEO Dana White has insisted the plan is for Miocic to fight Jones next.

Aspinall hasn’t been happy with this plan, and has been vocal about it. He still disagrees with not getting the title unification against Jones later this year – but has come to terms with the idea.

“I’ve openly said that I don’t think what’s going on with Jon Jones is right,” Aspinall said. “I don’t think that the UFC’s decision is right, but that’s just my opinion and I stated my opinion. I respect their opinion and their decision, and I respect everything that Jon Jones and the UFC has done and are doing.

“A lot of people online saying, ‘Hey, Tom. You need to stop crying,’ and I thought, ‘You know what? I f*cking need to stop crying about it. They’re right.’ I need to stop crying about it, move forward, and get on with my career, and prove that I’m the best. That’s exactly what I intend on doing.”

Jon Jones says Tom Aspinall fight still in play, gives career advice to interim UFC champ

Jon Jones says Tom Aspinall is “not important enough yet to determine my schedules and my decisions,” but isn’t ruling out a future fight.

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ top priority for his MMA career moving forward is to get healthy and defend his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

After Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) suffered a torn pectoral muscle that forced him out of a scheduled bout with Miocic at UFC 295 in November, the promotion introduced an interim title to the scene. Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) claimed that belt in emphatic fashion, scoring a vicious 69-second knockout of Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice bout on the same UFC 295 card which Jones was meant to compete on.

Although Aspinall is now the interim champion, he will not fight Jones next. Both Jones and UFC CEO Dana White are adamant the showdown with Miocic still has to happen, despite the fact Miocic hasn’t fought since March 2021, and hasn’t won since August 2020. That’s been immensely frustrating for Aspinall, and he’s vocalized as much in engaging with multiple back-and-forth exchanges with “Bones.”

Whether that will lead to a fight between them, remains to be seen. Jones, 36, said he’s taking his career fight-by-fight at this point. He won’t make any promises to unify with Aspinall if he gets past Miocic, but he won’t fully rule it out, either.

“I’m really going to base whether I continue on how I compete against Stipe, how I heal up from this injury,” Jones told Submission Radio. “I could blow Stipe out of the water or it could be an absolute war, and I feel like I need to take one step at a time before seeing what I do next. But the Tom fight is definitely not off the table – especially with how I’ve been feeling being out here. I feel just totally reinvigorated and just reenergized just being around all these fans, so I can’t just walk away. The ball is rolling in a really positive direction for me to continue my career.”

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Jones said Aspinall ultimately is “not important enough yet to determine my schedules and my decisions,” but that doesn’t mean they won’t fight. Jones has injury recovery and a fight with Miocic to get through before it becomes realistic in his mind, though, and he doesn’t think it would be wise for Aspinall to wait for all this to play out.

According to Jones, the best way for Aspinall to lure him into a fight would be to stay active and defend the interim belt, and as a result it will only increase the potential significance of a fight between them.

“If I were him, I would get after it, I would get after it,” Jones said. “If you truly believe that you’re the best in the world, then get after it. Go out there and compete, and the real fans will count your victories as champions. But don’t let me slow you down. Go out there and kick butt and make your money.”

Dominick Reyes: Tom Aspinall ‘too dangerous and not enough payoff’ for Jon Jones, same reason he didn’t rematch me

Dominick Reyes gets why Jon Jones prefers not to fight Tom Aspinall.

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] gets why [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] prefers not to fight [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) insists on having his fight with Stipe Miocic rebooked after he was forced to withdraw from their originally scheduled bout at UFC 295 in November due to a  torn pectoralis tendon.

Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was chomping at the bit to unify his belt with Jones, but Jones appeared disinterested. Reyes, who arguably gave Jones the toughest test of his career in their light heavyweight title fight in February 2020, can relate to Aspinall.

“I completely understand where Jon is coming from,” Reyes told Middle Easy. “Jon is Jon Jones. Say his name anywhere in the world and people recognize it. Fighting Tom is a risk management thing. It’s almost the same reason why he didn’t rematch me, kind of thing: It’s too dangerous and not enough payoff. Tom is an excellent fighter.”

Jones has hinted on multiple occasions that Miocic could be his last fight. If that is indeed the case, Reyes thinks fighting Aspinall wouldn’t make sense for Jones.

“Tom is very similar to myself, but he’s a heavyweight,” Reyes said. “That’s super dangerous. He moves extremely well, he’s very quick, his wrestling is really good, his grappling is good, his power is off the charts.

“How is that going to benefit Jon? Beating the most recent champion? No, let’s fight the greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic. Is he not the greatest with his defenses? One of the greatest of all time, an active great. Jon is a great himself, so he’s going to fight another active great.”

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Michael Bisping: Stipe Miocic has no business fighting Tom Aspinall

Michael Bisping believes Stipe Miocic should avoid Tom Aspinall at all costs.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] believes [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] should avoid [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] at all costs.

According to interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC), Miocic turned down a fight with him at UFC 300 on April 13 in favor of keeping his title fight with heavyweight champion Jon Jones intact.

Bisping thinks former champ Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) would be risking too much if he entertained the idea of fighting Aspinall.

“The man’s 42 years old in August. He hasn’t fought since he got knocked out against Francis Ngannou almost three years ago,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “And in that three years, let’s be honest, you’re declining, you’re getting older, so yeah, go fight Tom Aspinall, everyone thinks you’re the man, but what’s at risk? Well, the fight with Jon Jones.”

Miocic hasn’t competed since losing his heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021. He was scheduled to challenge Jones last November at UFC 295, but a torn pectoralis tendon forced “Bones” out of the bout.

Both Jones and UFC CEO Dana White seem intent on keeping the fight between Jones and Miocic alive, and Bisping agrees.

“Now I’m a fan of Tom Aspinall, OK, but if I’m managing Stipe, I say you sidestep Tom Aspinall all day long,” Bisping said. “Even if Stipe looked kind of interested, I would give him a slap in the face. I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Fighters need to be protected from themselves, and if Stipe was thinking about that, it just doesn’t make smart business sense.”

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Tom Aspinall says Stipe Miocic turned down UFC 300 fight, pledges to stop ‘crying’ about legends matchup

All signs are pointing toward Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, and Tom Aspinall realizes he’s likely the UFC’s odd man out.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] has accepted it. He’s the odd man out.

UFC CEO Dana White hasn’t publicly given an inch to any idea other than UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. former champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] as the promotion’s next heavyweight title fight.

However behind the scenes has been different, according to Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who revealed Tuesday on X that the promotion offered him Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) for UFC 300, to which he said yes and his proposed opponent said no.

“While we are talking about @StipeMiocic, my manager was contacted by the UFC asking if I’d like to fight him on Apr 13th,” Aspinall wrote. “I, of course, accepted.

Aspinall continued, “A little later, we were told @StipeMiocic doesn’t even want to fight me, and (is) only interested in fighting @JonnyBones.”

Aspinall has voiced frustration with the UFC’s matchmaking meritocracy, or lack thereof, in recent weeks. Aspinall earned the interim UFC heavyweight title in November, but is in limbo as Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) is out until at least mid-2024 as he recovers from a torn pectoral muscle and elbow surgery.

Perhaps feeling like he wasted his breath, Aspinall said he’s done complaining about the unfortunate situation.

“On that note. I will stop crying, accept it ain’t gonna happen and enjoy the fight that me and all the other fans want to see,” Aspinall wrote. “Legend vs legend for the heavyweight title. Maximum respect guys. Yay”

Aspinall’s tweets Tuesday come days after a back-and-forth with Jones over what the next title fight should be. Jones responded to critics’ calls for a different fight by downplaying Aspinall’s resume. Aspinall said Tuesday he understands Jones’ position and lack of eagerness to change course away from Miocic.

“Since me and Jon had our little twitter beef I see Jon’s point of view,” Aspinall wrote. “… Believe it or not I respect @JonnyBones and everything he has done. So impressive. I wish him all the best in his recovery and return against @StipeMiocic.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Michael Bisping: Jon Jones has to fight Tom Aspinall to avoid tarnishing his legacy

Michael Bisping thinks Jon Jones not fighting Tom Aspinall would be a bad look.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] not fighting [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] would be a bad look.

UFC heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) is currently healing from a torn pectoralis tendon, as well as a procedure he just underwent on his elbow. He is expected to return against Stipe Miocic – not Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who claimed the interim title with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

Jones has grown tired of Aspinall’s constant callouts, dismissing the Brit’s resume. But if Jones decides to hang up his gloves with a Miocic win, Bisping says don’t be surprised if people think he’s avoiding the fight.

“He doesn’t have anything to prove, other than he can beat Tom Aspinall,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “If he does retire right now, that is always going to be the narrative. There’s people out there – and I know this annoys Jones, so I’m sorry to bring it up – people say that he avoided Francis Ngannou. I’m not saying that, but that’s a narrative that exists. I don’t think that’s true, but people do say that.

“If he doesn’t fight Tom Aspinall, if he beats Stipe, that will forever be the narrative. That will forever be the narrative – that he’s ducking Tom Aspinall, that he’s afraid of Tom Aspinall, that he looks at Tom Aspinall – this gigantic man, a true heavyweight that moves like a middleweight, that has ridiculous finishing ability, a heavyweight Georges St-Pierre, a mixed martial arts version of Muhammad Ali, (and is scared).”

Bisping thinks Jones needs to fight Aspinall, especially if Aspinall defends his interim title in the meantime.

“How on earth can Jon Jones retire when there’s another active, defending heavyweight champion?” Bisping said. “You just can’t do that. That is madness, and it will affect his legacy and tarnish his accomplishments forever.”

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Jon Jones puts Tom Aspinall on blast for constant callouts: ‘I have no clue who 90 percent of his resume is’

Tom Aspinall’s patience is running thin, and UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones is getting tired of hearing about it.

Editor’s note: Post contains new series of Jones posts on X after hours of silence.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]’s patience is running thin, and UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is getting tired of his callouts.

Aspinall, the current interim heavyweight champ, wants to unify his belt with Jones, but he’ll have to wait a while. Jones is currently recovering from a torn pectoralis tendon, as well as a procedure he just underwent on his elbow.

But Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) won’t be facing Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) upon his return. Instead, the UFC intends on rebooking Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, with both men on board, as well. And that has Aspinall frustrated.

Aspinall repeatedly has expressed his discontent, and Jones, tired of hearing it, has reached a boiling point. Check out their exchanges below.

Stipe Miocic preaches patience to frustrated Tom Aspinall, open to unification bout after Jon Jones

Stipe Miocic was classy in response to Tom Aspinall’s fiery argument about who should be next to face UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

[autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] displayed class in the wake of a fiery argument from [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] about who should be next to face UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

Interim titleholder Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has been campaigning hard for the UFC to change course away from a Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) vs. Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) matchup and instead give him the opportunity to unify belts with Jones next.

The Brit expressed anger and frustration Thursday over social media, unleashing a string of messages as to why Miocic, who hasn’t fought since a March 2021 knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260, should be put on the backburner so he can instead realize his dream fight with Jones, who is targeting a mid-2024 return after injury and surgery delayed his original UFC 295 showdown with Miocic on Nov. 11 (via X):

Miocic, who often stays quite over social media, was prompted to reply to Aspinall’s rant.

The former three-time UFC heavyweight king was quick to remind Aspinall that he was not responsible for the bout postponement, which ultimately afforded Aspinall the chance to fight Sergei Pavlovich on short notice and claim the interim belt with a 69-second knockout.

Additionally, Miocic, who many have speculated would retire win or lose against Jones, did not close the door on a fight with Aspinall should he emerge victorious against “Bones” (via X):

I have never caused a delay in the Jon fight.

Tom, once I get this win, let’s talk to unify the belt.

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