Newly crowned undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall isn`t preoccupied with the potential return of Jon Jones. Following Jones`s retirement, which led to Aspinall being promoted to the undisputed titleholder, the British fighter is now focused on his first defense, with Jones seemingly out of the active picture.
Aspinall previously held the interim title and defended it successfully, hoping to eventually face Jones in a unification bout. However, “Bones” never agreed to that matchup. This hasn`t troubled Aspinall, whose primary goal has always been to be recognized as the top heavyweight in MMA, rather than engaging in a personal rivalry with Jones. Nevertheless, Aspinall acknowledges that if Jones were to decide on a comeback, he would likely be granted an immediate title opportunity.
“I`m sure with where he`s at he can jump the queue anytime he wants,” Aspinall stated on The Diary Of A CEO podcast. “This time of year, down the line, we`ll have another three or four contenders knocking on for a title shot, I`m sure, but anytime someone like him wants to step up and say, `Listen, I want to fight again,` they`re going to get an immediate title shot so I`m never going to count that out.”
He added, “I`m in a spot in my career where there`s not all that much footage out there on me. Maybe he sees something on me in the next few fights and he thinks, `You know what? I can beat this guy. I`m going to come back and beat him.` So mentally, I`m never counting that out. I think the fight could always pop back up and come back around on me, so that`s something that I would obviously accept.”
Jon Jones became the undisputed heavyweight champion in 2023 by defeating Ciryl Gane for the belt vacated by Francis Ngannou. He later defended it against Stipe Miocic after a year-long delay due to his own injury. While he achieved success at heavyweight, Jones`s legacy is predominantly defined by his historic run in the light heavyweight division.
At just 23, Jones made history as the youngest champion in UFC history by defeating Mauricio Rua at UFC 128. He went on to win his next 13 light heavyweight title fights. His only instances of losing the belt were due to legal issues outside the cage or overturned wins, such as his victory over Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, which was changed to a no-contest after a positive test for performance-enhancing substances. In his 30 professional fights, Jones has never truly been defeated in competition; his sole loss is a disqualification against Matt Hamill for illegal elbows in a fight he was clearly dominating.
When asked if he had a message for Jones, Aspinall responded with humility.
“I think he`s had an amazing career and I think he should enjoy the rest of his life,” Aspinall said. “If he truly feels like he`s done enough, which he keeps saying that he does, he will be at peace. He doesn`t need me or anybody else to tell him how good he`s done. He`ll know it himself, so I hope that he`s enjoying his life, he`s enjoying his family, and he`s celebrating his career because it`s been amazing.”
With the focus now shifted away from Jones, Aspinall is looking forward to his first defense as the undisputed heavyweight champion. While there isn`t a single clear contender that fans are overwhelmingly calling for, Aspinall has considered a few potential opponents.
“I`ve actually fought a lot of the top 10,” Aspinall noted. “One of the guys I`ve not fought is Ciryl Gane. I was actually chasing that fight a few times before. He was ducking and diving around himself a little bit, so he is due a little bit of a beating off me. I look forward to that. A couple more guys down the rankings, Jailton Almeida I`ve not fought, there`s a guy I`ve already beat called Alexander Volkov who`s doing really well for himself as well, so who knows? You never know in the heavyweight division. There`s a couple of up-and-coming guys who I`ve not mentioned as well, so there`s some good fights to be made over the next couple of years for sure.”
For the better part of two years, Aspinall pursued a unification bout with Jones, but it never materialized due to Jones`s injury and his expressed desire to face Stipe Miocic first. This situation led Aspinall to defend his interim title against Curtis Blaydes. Even after both fighters were available, Jones declined to book a fight with the British contender.
As a result, Aspinall is keen to make up for lost time and hopes to fight twice in 2025 for the championship.
“I`m going to be fighting hopefully twice this year,” Aspinall stated. “That`s my plan, at least. I think I`ve wasted enough time now. We`re looking to get a fight booked quick and it`s looking like it`s going to be pretty soon anyway. Then hopefully if everything goes well in the first one, I`m uninjured, which is it`s easier said than done getting through a fight with a guy my size and coming out with no injuries, but if I can do that, I would like to fight at the end of the year as well. That would be perfect.”
Marcus Blakely