Outside Source
Tom Aspinall believes it’s now or never for Jon Jones.
For well over a year now, Aspinall has courted a heavyweight title unification bout with Jones to no avail. Though Aspinall is the interim champion, this past November, Jones defended his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic and won. After the fight, Jones said he would need “f*ck you” money to fight Aspinall before laying the foundation for a superfight with then-light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Earlier this month, Pereira lost his title in a close decision to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. And while Aspinall doesn’t want to gloat about a fight that he has no stake it, he can’t help but admit how Ankalaev did him a favor.
“You know Jon’s phone got whizzed across the room on Saturday night,” Aspinall told One On One. “He was there ready to Tweet that, [feigns throwing a phone] head in the hands and everything [Laughs].
“No, in all honesty, I would never, every celebrate somebody’s loss. That really isn’t my style. I’m an Alex Pereira fan. I love his style, love the run he’s been on. 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.”
While UFC CEO Dana White was cool on the idea of a Jones vs. Pereira superfight before, the ship seems likely to have sailed completely now. Instead, all signs point to Ankalaev and Pereira running things back, leaving Jones with just two options, according to Aspinall.
“There’s no where to go for Jon,” Aspinall said. “He either has to fight me or retire now. And if he does retire, everyone knows that he will have been avoiding me. So there literally isn’t another fight for Jon at the moment. So it works out pretty good.”
And for what it’s worth, Aspinall is still holding out hope that it’s the former. Though reports recently circulated that Jones wants at least six months of prep time for a fight with Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion remains optimistic based on his conversations with top UFC officials.
“I want it to, obviously,” Aspinall said. “I’ve been talking about it for years now. In all honesty, I’ve been in the rooms with the UFC brass — Dana, Hunter [Campbell] — a few times, and they’ve told me it’s happening. That’s all I can go off. I’m the same as everybody else. … The people who know are the UFC brass, really, and when I’ve sat down and spoke to them, they’re confident it happens. So I trust that it’s going to happen if they’re telling me that.”
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Between the Links.
UFC London Media Day
Lone’er Kavanagh interview.
Conor McGregor for President?
Ireland, the choice is yours and it is an easy one. Vote for me as your President and we will SAVE IRELAND TOGETHER! ❤️ https://t.co/tLGdPITwnr
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 20, 2025
Any guesses on what Ilia Topuria’s new nickname will be?
El Matador has been my ally in every fight. But next time, I’ll step into the octagon with a new identity. #NewEra
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) March 20, 2025
Miranda Maverick.
@rosenamajunas has been an inspiration for so many women, especially in WMMA, and I am no exception. I watched her fight as I was coming up in the sport and then I got to train with her on a regular basis. We have been training together for the past few years, but luckily train… pic.twitter.com/kkB6swLHwi
— Miranda Maverick (@FearTheMAVERICK) March 20, 2025
Adrian Yañez wants to see violence.
Rose Namajunas (13-7) vs. Miranda Maverick (15-5); UFC Atlanta, June 14.
Alright, y’all. Fun weekend of combat sports ahead of us. UFC London is pretty solid and the official debut of Dirty Boxing will be interesting if nothing else. Lock in and enjoy.
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