Tom Aspinall says he’s glad Jon Jones is ‘enjoying retirement’ as negotiations for the pair’s UFC title bout drag on.
Jones is the UFC heavyweight champion and has been urged to put his belt on the line against Aspinall for months now.
Jones won UFC heavyweight gold in March 2023, but has only defended the belt onceGetty Images - GettyIn fact, a petition to strip Jones of his undisputed heavyweight title has reached almost 170,000 verified signatures.
In the UK, this would mean that the subject at hand would have to be considered for debate in Parliament having already surpassed the 100,000 mark.
Jones is currently on holiday in Thailand having made his one and only UFC heavyweight title defence against Stipe Miocic in November.
He had a message for Aspinall after hosting a MMA seminar in Phuket on Saturday.
“Just wrapped up the biggest seminar in Phuket history,” he wrote on social media.
“Half the crowd flew in from the UK — how wild is that?! Massive shout-out to my guy Tom for all the free promo… couldn’t have done it without you.
“Seriously though, I’m beyond grateful for this brand new UK following.
“You guys showed up with so much love and energy, and I felt every bit of it. Let’s keep this momentum going — make sure to sign that petition today, we’re pushing 200k! How exciting.”
Aspinall has since responded to Jones’ comments.
Jones vs Aspinall would be one of the biggest MMA fights of all timeGetty“My pleasure Jon,” he said. “Told you I’m not an a**hole. Glad you’re enjoying retirement.”
Jones has sent mixed signals regarding his retirement in the last month.
‘Bones’ seemingly suggested that he was ‘done’ with the sport, before posting a conflicting message on his Instagram that suggested otherwise.
He has also claimed that he told the UFC his plans ‘a long time ago’ and embarked on a wild social media rant when he told his three million X followers he would ‘probably vacate the belt before officially retiring.’
Aspinall, meanwhile, believes that it is Jones’ financial demands holding up their highly anticipated bout.
“Me personally, I can’t do anything,” he said this month.
“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.
Jones thanked Aspinall for his fans and the latter told the champ to enjoy retirementX Aspinall is the longest-reigning UFC interim heavyweight championGETTY“I just think that at this stage in his career — he’s had an amazing career — 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.
His 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.
A fight against Jones would no doubt be the biggest UFC CEO Dana White could make this year.
As time ticks on, it is only likely that we could see the fight now in November or December with reports suggesting Jones wants at least six months to prepare for Aspinall.
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