Paddy Pimblett makes pick for potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall heavyweight clash

Paddy Pimblett would lean towards Jon Jones to beat Tom Aspinall in a potential UFC heavyweight championship unification bout, but if the interim champ became the first to stop Jones in the octagon, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“I love Aspinall, me lad, he’s my mate and that, but I can never pick against Jon Jones because we’ve never seen him get beat,” Pimblett said at a UFC Fan Q&A event in Liverpool, England. “I think now, if anyone’s going to beat him, it is Aspinall.

“Aspinall could just knock him out and come out with his hands and knock him clean out. But I’ve never picked against Jon Jones.”

Despite UFC CEO Dana White guaranteeing, on multiple occasions, that the UFC would put a fight between Jones and Aspinall together, there is nothing currently on the books. Fan sentiment appears to be leaning towards the fight not happening, and hoping the UFC will just book Aspinall to compete as the undisputed champion to keep one of the most exciting big men to compete in the UFC off of the sidelines and staying active.

Aspinall is already the longest reigning interim champion in UFC history, and hasn’t competed since destroying Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds at UFC 304 this past July. Jones captured the heavyweight title at UFC 285 in March 2023 and has only competed once since then — defeating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 this past November in a fight Aspinall watched in the crowd despite being interim champ for a year at that time.

“The Baddy” is making his own rise up in the UFC, and doing so in the promotion’s toughest division at lightweight. Pimblett recently picked up his seventh UFC win at UFC 314 in April where he mauled and finished Michael Chandler in the third round of the highly anticipated co-main event.

While Pimblett’s skills and constant evolution have led him to recent success, Pimblett being a student of the game has certainly helped with his progress — which includes 15-plus years of watching Jones compete.

“I’ve been watching Jon Jones since he became champ when I was a kid, know what I mean? Since I started watching the UFC in like 2009, 2010, I’ve been watching Jon Jones since then, even before he won the belt. I can remember watching the fight live when he got disqualified for the 12-to-6 elbows. That’s how long I’ve been watching Jon Jones.

“It’s just the way he game plans. He finds a way to beat someone, and he works on that exact thing on how to beat them. If anyone’s going to beat him, it’s Aspinall.”