Tom Aspinall says the heavyweight champ is running from him: ‘I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him’
Interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall has once more accused fellow divisional titleholder, Jon Jones was skirting a unification fight with him in the future – predicting he will force him into a retirement without ever having to share the Octagon with him.
Aspinall, the current interim heavyweight gold holder, most recently co-headlined UFC 304 at the end of July, landing a blistering opening round knockout win over stalwart contender, Curtis Blaydes – to avenge his sole defeat in the promotion.
As for Jones, the Rochester native is all but signed to return at UFC 309 in November, headlining the organization’s annual Madison Square Garden card in a rescheduled pairing with former two-time champion, Stipe Miocic.
Tom Aspinall vows to retire Jon Jones in bold statement
And amid labored calls for a title unification showdown with former pound-for-pound number one, Jones, Atherton native, Aspinall has claimed he will send the former into retirement, without having to ever lay a glove on him.
“We know he’s (Jon Jones) a bit overweight these days, the guy was sat there, mate, with the Cheeto fingers – the Doritos on his fingers with his iPhone in hand waiting for me to get knocked out so he could start tweeting about it,” Tom Aspinall said during an appearance on Believe You Me. “Let’s be honest, since I won that fight [with Curtis Blaydes], he’s gone completely quiet. Because there’s no way on earth that he’s gonna fight me – I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him.”
Aspinall’s claims regarding a fight with Jones come hot on the heels of comments from UFC CEO, Dana White, who boldly said that the Atherton native didn’t deserve any fight next – including a matchup with Jones.
“When you say Jon Jones versus Tom Aspinall, does that mean we’re saying Stipe (Miocic) doesn’t deserve the fight?” Dana White said. “I mean, this fight was supposed to happen, Jon’s got injured and Stipe has paid his dues and has been here forever.”
“My job is to make the biggest fights I can possible make,” White explained. “I know everybody wants to see Aspinall but those two are gonna fight and whoever wins, hopefully, Aspinall is next and they’re gonna give Aspinall the opportunities they got when they were in their young careers to get to where they are today.”
