Jon Jones has played down Tom Aspinall’s resume after the Briton’s latest bid to secure a fight with the MMA icon.
Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in November to win the interim UFC heavyweight belt, after regular champion Jones suffered an injury that derailed his planned title defence against Stipe Miocic.
The interim champion would typically unify the titles against the regular champion in each fighter’s next bout, but the UFC has expressed its intention to rebook Jones vs Miocic this year.
Aspinall, 30, took exception to those plans last week, highlighting that Miocic – despite being one of the UFC’s greatest heavyweights ever – has not fought in three years and is without a win in almost four. The Briton stated his case to face Jones next, instead of 41-year-old Miocic receiving a title shot when the champion recovers, and Jones has now responded.
The American, 36, tweeted: “Only four recognizable opponents, and already the king of England, must be nice. There will be legendary tales told about you and your infamous call outs.
“I was a champion when I was 23 years old, you can’t show up at age 30 pretending like you’ve been chasing me your whole life. I have no clue who 90% of his résumé is, meanwhile, I’ve been [headlining] UFC events my entire career.
“It’s a wild world we live in! People can be so quick to try to replace you, throw you away, discredit your work. That’s the best thing about them stats or just being able to see the fruits of your labor. Be an absolute savage at what you do, at whatever capacity that may be. Let the work speak for itself, be undeniable in this world ladies and gentlemen. Be absolutely undeniable.”
Aspinall (right) knocked out Pavlovich to become interim champion in November— (Getty Images)
Aspinall soon replied: “Jon you’re letting your ego run wild here mate. I’m not downplaying [your] resume, it’s incredible. Far superior to mine. You are known as the best fighter ever, and that’s EXACTLY why I want to beat you. Surely you can understand that?”
Jones is a former two-time light-heavyweight champion and is the consensus greatest fighter in the history of that division, and he moved up to heavyweight last March, returning after three years away to win the vacant belt. Jones’s career has been overshadowed by numerous run-ins with the law and failed drug tests, however.
Aspinall’s first-round knockout of Pavlovich saw him become Britain’s third UFC champion, and improved the Wigan fighter’s professional record to 14-3. His sole UFC loss came via injury in 2022, while all of Aspinall’s wins – in the UFC and elsewhere – have come inside two rounds.
Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.
