Are we finally getting Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall?
According to Dana White himself, it’s an 100% guarantee:
“Yeah, I’ll say 100 percent [guaranteed],” White said. “100 percent [it’s a priority]. I think it’s probably the biggest fight in heavyweight history, and it’s a massive in the history of the company, too. It’s a big fight.”
Fans have been calling for this fight for over a year now. For some odd reason, Dana White felt that he needed to make Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic first. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion is one of the greatest to step into the octagon, but Jones’s insistence on having that match held back the division so much that the UFC President created an interim heavyweight title at UFC 295.
Jones/Miocic was originally scheduled for UFC 295, but the former ended up being sidelined with an injury. Aspinall fought Sergei Pavlovich for the interim belt and he won via knockout in the first round.
Aspinall is currently the hottest thing going in the heavyweight division as he’s successfully defended the belt against Curtis Blaydes. Throughout the year, Jones didn't seem too interested in fighting the 31-year-old. After he beat Miocic at UFC 309, that interest didn’t change much, but he did say he’s willing to step into the octagon against Aspinall for the right price:
“I get to you guys, you find it entertaining, but I find him annoying. I just don’t like him. Jones said during the UFC 309 press conference.
“At the end of the day, if I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be so compensated, I’m gonna say it, I want that ‘f**k you’ money, honestly.
“My life is perfect without him; I don’t need him at all. He needs me, and that’s a good place to be in a negotiation.”
Will Dana White give him that f**k you money? The UFC President bulked at giving the 37-year-old the money he was asking for when Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones was being set-up, though there were other complications to that match-up as well.
The match makes sense since Aspinall is the interim heavyweight champion. Plus, many fans and critics feel that he has a legitimate shot at being the first man to knockout Jon Jones. Though Aspinall doesn’t have the record Jones does, he is the biggest threat to his title, and that’s not only because he’s the interim champion.
Tom’s explosiveness has seen him knockout or submit every opponent he’s beaten in the octagon. Hopefully, the match gets made, but don't be surprised if it never happens either.