Jon Jones provides major update on UFC fight against Tom Aspinall after striking ‘agreement'

Independent

2 days ago

Jon Jones maintains that the ball is now in the UFC 's court regarding a mega fight against Tom Aspinall.
The heavyweight champion has hinted that an announcement could be imminent to finalise one of the biggest fights in the organisation's history.
And the 37-year-old insists the organisation will update fans, after months of difficult negotiations, which have seen Aspinall's time out of the octagon extend to almost a year since last July's victory over Curtis Blaydes.
But after a war of words, Jones has teased how both fighters will now allow Dana White to provide the latest on the fight.
'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, with pressure growing on the UFC to strip him of his title.
'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.'
A Change petition has called for the legendary American to be removed as undisputed heavyweight king in the UFC, with signatures surging to almost 180,000 at the time of writing.
'We as fans must let Dana White know: It is time to strip Jon Jones of the heavyweight title. He clearly has no intentions of fighting anytime soon,' the petition concluded.
Jones had fireed back at his rival last week, ordering him to 'shut up and do what you're told'.
In one of the most controversial UFC sagas in recent memory, Jones and Aspinall continue to hold a heavyweight title each, without having a unification bout booked.
Jones, a former two-time light-heavyweight champion, won the vacant heavyweight belt in March 2023, but a planned defence against divisional great Stipe Miocic collapsed later that year when Jones suffered an injury. Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich stepped up, with the Briton knocking out the Russian to win the interim title, while Jones's clash with Miocic was delayed by 12 months.
Last November, Jones stopped his fellow American to retain the regular belt, seemingly setting up a fight with Aspinall, who retained the interim strap last July.
However, Jones has continued to play coy over the prospect of that contest coming to fruition. As such, Aspinall opened up on the mental toll of the saga this week, telling UFC legend Demetrious Johnson: 'I've been almost a year inactive with no prospects of anything apart from 'wait'. So, now it's actually a bit more of a tricky time for me mentally than it was [when I was out for 12 months with an injury, from 2023 until 2024].
'Now, it's just like: 'Just be ready and we'll just let you know.' It's kind of difficult mentally, but this is the fight against Jon Jones. The fight is another thing, this is the tricky bit where I really have to stay switched on, stay motivated, and I'm trying my best. It's tough sometimes.'
Verdict MMA shared the 32-year-old's quotes on Instagram, and 37-year-old Jones commented, 'Shut your mouth and do as you're told,' along with a laughing emoji.
The comment comes during a week in which Jones has been as vague as ever over the chances of him fighting Aspinall.
In one video, he said, 'I'm done,' though he tweeted on the same day: 'I don't know if I wanna call it retired, I feel like I'll always have an ability to pop out and show em. I've had many breaks throughout my career, my identity outside of fighting is well intact. I'm genuinely enjoying life, I'm growing in different ways.'
And earlier in the week, he tweeted: 'Yall barkin up the wrong tree. I told the Ufc my plans a long time ago. I have no clue why they haven't shared them with you guys yet.
'Lol do I come across as the type of person who cares about things like [being stripped of the title]? [...] This, this attitude, right here is making me a very wealthy man. This desperation [from fans] is incredibly lucrative, so thank you. Keep it coming.'
With the UFC , Jones vs Aspinall is unlikely to happen before October. UFC president Dana White did vow this month that he would soon announce the bout, but fans continue to await such an announcement.