Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall last fought in July 2024, defending the interim championship against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. He captured the interim title at UFC 295 in November 2023 and has lobbied for a title unification bout against champion Jon Jones for the last 18 months.
Jones defended the heavyweight championship against former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 last November, but hasn’t agreed to face Aspinall next. At this point, Aspinall is on the verge of moving on from Jon Jones fight discussions and believes the hold up comes down to money.
“Me, personally, I can’t do anything,” Aspinall said on the High Performance Podcast. “I just think it’s down to money on his side. I will fight whenever — whenever, wherever he wants — but it’s down to money I think.”
“I just think that at this stage in his career, he’s had an amazing career, I just think that, he’s like 37, 38 years old, but not only that, he’s got a million miles on the clock. So he’s got a lot of damage on the body. He’s [taken] a lot of shots to the head. And that’s not me saying anything negative. That’s the reality of it, and I’m sure Jon Jones is aware of that.”
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Aspinall understands Jones’ situation and why he’s asking for a lucrative payday. But he’s grown tired of waiting for Jones and is willing to consider ‘something else.’
“When you put him in there with, and I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet, but I’m literally the most dangerous guy in the UFC if you look at the stats,” Aspinall said. “When you put him in with a guy of my size who has them credentials at this stage in his career, I think Jon’s a smart guy and realizes that, so he wants to be compensated financially for it.”
“I’m well bored of it. I’ve had enough. We either need to fight, or I need to move on to something else.”
