Tom Aspinall believes Jon Jones’ monetary demands are the only thing delaying their inevitable title fight.
Aspinall has been patiently waiting for a crack at the UFC heavyweight title, currently held by Jones, for over a year now.
Aspinall is the interim heavyweight champion and waiting to fight Jones nextgettyThe 32-year-old became the next in line to fight for the American’s belt when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in November 2023, and defended his status as interim champion against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 eight months later.
The victory over Blaydes was Aspinall’s last to date in the UFC as the Mancunican became the promotion’s longest-reigning interim champion of all time last month.
He has held the belt for 548 days as of May 12, 2025.
Aspinall has admitted several times that he has accepted the fight with Jones to unify the heavyweight division, and has now revealed why he thinks it’s being held up.
“Me personally, I can’t do anything,” he said, speaking on the High Performance podcast on Monday when asked about what he can do to make the fight with Jones happen.
“I think it’s just down to money on his side, so I will fight whenever, wherever he wants, but it’s down to money I think.
“I just think that at this stage in his career, he’s had an amazing career. I just think that he’s like 37, 38 years old, but not only that, he’s got a million miles on the clock.
“So he’s got a lot of damage on the body, took a lot of shots to the head, and that’s not me saying anything negative about that’s the reality of it.
“I’m sure Jon Jones is aware of that; when you put him in with – I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet – but I’m literally the most dangerous guy in the UFC if you look at the stats.”
Aspinall has the shortest average fight time in UFC history, having finished seven of his eight victories in the promotion in the first round.
Aspinall has finished all-but one of his UFC victories in the first roundGetty He believes Jones wants to be compensated properly for the threat he facesGetty Jones has never publicly declared that he is willing to defend his title against AspinallGetty Images - GettyHis only defeat came 15 seconds into his first fight with Blaydes at UFC London in July 2022 when he suffered a torn MCL, torn meniscus and ACL damage after a leg kick.
“When you put him in with a guy of my size, who has credentials, at this stage in his career I think Jon’s a smart guy and he realises that so he wants compensation financially for it,” Aspinall added.
He was then asked if he enjoys all of the back and forth talk regarding a fight with Jones.
“I’m well bored of it,” he answered. “I’ve had enough. We either need to fight or I need to move on and do something else.
“But, like I said, I’m gonna find out, literally today is the day that I’ve been waiting for three or four months for, and I’m gonna find out today what’s going on.”
Aspinall’s episode on the High Performance only came out this week, but it is believed that it was recorded during UFC London fight week in March.
Jones has been urged to fight Aspinall and unify the UFC heavyweight divisionAFP - Getty Aspinall’s father, Andy, believes the entire situation is ‘stupid’GettyHe was spotted doing media duties in London before sitting down with UFC CBO Hunter Campbell to discuss a fight with Jones.
Clearly there wasn’t much progress following the face-to-face meeting as MMA fans are still waiting on an announcement from the UFC.
Things have gone on for so long that tensions are starting to mount inside Aspinall’s camp, particularly from his father, Andy Aspinall.
“We’re in April now, still waiting for [Jones] to say, ‘I’ll have a fight,’ or ‘I’ll not have a fight,’” he said last month.
“And I don’t really understand that. He’s a fighter who should be having fights.
“Why is [Jones] still sitting around not giving an answer as to whether he’s going to fight or not?”
“Tom’s done all he can do, he’s fought in the middle of the night to defend an interim, he fought for an interim…and he won that, what else can he do?
“He can fight lesser-ranked people than Jon Jones, but that means he may miss the opportunity to fight Jon Jones, which is massive because he’s the champion and the best there’s ever been.
“If Tom beats him that’s great, but what other choice does he have?It’s all a bit funny to me.”
Some UFC fans believe the promotion must make Jones vs Aspinall, or it will be a failure on their behalf.
Meanwhile, British MMA icon Michael Bisping told talkSPORT in March that Jones must ‘hurry up, or retire’ when asked about the situation.
If Jones does leave the sport before fighting Aspinall, it is likely the Englishman would find himself up against No. 2 ranked UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane for unified status in his next fight.
Jones defeated Gane after a four-year hiatus from the sport in March 2023 to win the heavyweight title for the first time, before defending it against Stipe Miocic.
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