UFC's Tom Aspinall moving on from 'retired' Jon Jones
June 3 - Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall considers Jon Jones to be retired and wants to move on.
Aspinall has not stepped into the Octagon since July 27, 2024, when he successfully defended the interim title with a first round knockout of Curtis Blades. That victory avenged the lone UFC defeat for Aspinall (8-1, 15-3 overall).
Aspinall's July victory and Jones' win over Stipe Miocic in November 2024 would appear to warrant a unification bout, but there has been no news in the last seven months and some are calling for Jones to be stripped of his title. Jones hasn't competed in that span.
"Jon Jones is retired," Aspinall said on ESPN's "Good Guy/Bad Guy" podcast on Monday. "I want to say God bless him moving forward in what he does with his life and career. We move on. I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I'm ready to take on all comers and get this division moving again.
Jones (28-1), a two-time light heavyweight champion, who won the vacant heavyweight belt in March 2023, views the situation differently than Aspinall.
"The UFC, I and Tom, we all got a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes," Jones said at a seminar in Thailand while filming a reality show, according to The Independent. "They're one of the biggest organizations in sports and right now, Tom and I have agreed to wait for the UFC to make their announcements. So I legally can't really talk about it."
UFC CEO Dana White has expressed optimism that the bout would take place. In November, he referred to the potential matchup "the biggest fight in heavyweight history," but, until Jones' statements in Thailand, Jones had not shown interest in fighting the Englishman.
The hold-up has delayed most of the bouts between any of the top-ranked heavyweights.
"The other guys don't want to fight anybody because they might be next themselves," Aspinall said. "Everybody else is scared to fight. Nobody wants to make the next move. The division is completely stuck. I am sick of the division being stuck. I'm there. I'm active. I'm getting better all the time. Just stick me in. I'm ready to fight all of them."
--Field Level Media
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