Latest news with #UFC295
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Tom Aspinall Says UFC Champ Jon Jones is Retired: It's Time To Move On
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall looks on during the ... More UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is tired of waiting for UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones to face him in a title unification bout. "Jon Jones is retired," Aspinall told Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen. "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. "Those guys have been waiting around too long. The contenders are getting sick of it. Everybody's getting sick of it. Even the fans are getting sick of this stuff. So, Jon's retired and it's time that we move on. "I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I'm ready to take on all comers, get this division moving again. Us guys have been waiting around too long. The guys, contenders are getting sick of it, everybody's getting sick of it, even the fans are getting sick of it. Jon's retired and it's time that we move on.' MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Tom Aspinall of England reacts after his knockout victory against ... More Curtis Blaydes in the interim UFC heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 304 event at Co-op Live on July 27, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight crown in November 2023 with a knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Aspinall took that fight on short notice when the original main event for that card, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for Jones's heavyweight title was scrapped following an injury to Jones. Despite Aspinall winning the interim crown, UFC CEO Dana White remained steadfast in saying that Jones vs. Miocic was the fight to make. That fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024. Aspinall has been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Miocic became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 14: Jon Jones and UFC President Dana White react during the UFC 309 ... More press conference at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 14, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC) In late April, UFC CEO Dana White addressed rumors about the Jones vs. Aspinall fight. 'Everything you hear is (expletive) until we (the UFC) say it,' White said of all the talk about Jones vs. Aspinall. 'I've said it many times, that's the fight we want to make this year.' White then added that he remains 'super confident' that Jones and Aspinall will meet in 2025 before adding, 'I've said since day one, this will be the biggest heavyweight in the history of the company and in the history of the sport. It's going to be a big one.' Tom Aspinall during the Heavyweight fight at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester. Picture date: ... More Saturday July 27, 2024. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images) 'I'm not looking to fight Jon Jones,' Aspinall said. 'I'm looking to fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship. That's what I want to be. I want to be the UFC undisputed heavyweight champion. I see a lot of people comparing me to Michael Chandler. Michael Chandler waited for a long time for Conor McGregor. I'm not waiting for one fight. I'm not trying to fight one guy. I'm trying to fight all the guys. I'm trying to be the guy at heavyweight who takes out everybody. 'It doesn't matter who it is. Ciryl Gane, [Alexander] Volkov rematch, [Jailton] Almeida, Derrick Lewis, Brock Lesnar, whoever it is, I don't care. I want to fight everybody, and I want to fight as much as possible, get some excitement back in this division. Let's not talk about Jon Jones anymore. All the best, the guy's living his best life. Full respect to him, wish him all the best in the future, he deserves all the money and success that he gets. I'm the active guy, I'm going to fight somebody, and that's going to be announced pretty soon.'
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Tom Aspinall crushes fan expectations while taking an unapologetic shot at the UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones - 'Living my best life'
Tom Aspinall. Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images The heavyweight championship bout between Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones seems to be going nowhere, even after the interim heavyweight champion's recent cryptic Instagram post. Fueling the expectation of the fans , Aspinall, on May 26, posted a video about an upcoming announcement, which was interpreted as the much-anticipated heavyweight championship bout. However, the fighter immediately shot down the possibilities through his replies on the post, which were also an indirect and unapologetic dig at the Bones. Tom Aspinall becomes the longest-reigning interim heavyweight champion in the history of UFC , denies immediate possibilities of a title unification bout A major shakeup for UFC 295 was announced after Jon Jones had to pull out from his fight against Stipe Miocic in a title defense bout. The fight was replaced with another one featuring Tom Aspinall against Sergei Pavlovich for the UFC interim heavyweight championship belt. Aspinall dominated the Octagon to become the interim champion and even defended the belt against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. Months later, Jones stepped back into the Octagon and defended his heavyweight championship belt against Stipe Miocic. Usually, in such a scenario, a title unification bout is arranged between the interim champion and the champion of the division in order to decide upon one titleholder. Even though it has been quite a few months since the Bones stepped back into the Octagon, there has been no major development in fixing a date for the unification bout. The long wait has got both Aspinall and the fans to an extent where petitions are being issued in order to strip Jones of his belt. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Up until now, the petition has received over 100,000 signatures. Recently, the English fighter also resorted to his social media account and posted a video teasing an announcement on May 28, 2025. Immediately, fans speculated about the much-awaited announcement for the title unification bout. However, the expectations were dismissed immediately when Aspinall replied to his post, negating the possibilities of such an announcement. Aspinall initially captioned the post as, 'Heavyweight news. Coming soon ⏳' Soon enough, after a significant number of engagements on the post, the fighter commented, 'UFC announce my fights guys not me'. The comment was followed by another one, which was an unapologetic dig at Jones's recent line of posts on X. Aspinall wrote, 'Sorry guys I'm fighting for a new belt. Interim of the interim BMF UFC heavyweight title. Living my best life' While fans have started speculating about Jones' retirement from the sport, the fighter subtly dismissed the chances, saying that he has had breaks previously in his career, and it is just one of them. The fighter is currently enjoying his life in Thailand and shows no sign of any announcement on short notice. Also read: UFC play-by-play commentator reveals major Octagon plans for former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad The wait for the unification bout has made Tom Aspinall the longest-reigning interim champion in the history of UFC. Despite several callouts and claims of ducking the fight, Jon Jones seems unbothered and is handling the allegation very calmly through his social media account on X. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
USA Today
26-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Coach Ray Longo: UFC should strip Jon Jones to be fair to Tom Aspinall, fans
Coach Ray Longo: UFC should strip Jon Jones to be fair to Tom Aspinall, fans Coach Ray Longo thinks the UFC should strip Jon Jones of the heavyweight title to be fair to interim champ Tom Aspinall and the fans. Judging by recent social media posts and comments, Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) has been "living his best life" while leading the public to believe he has no intention of ever fighting Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). Jones won the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 in March 2023 and has only defended the title once against a since-retired Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November. Meanwhile, Aspinall won an interim title at UFC 295 in November 2023 and recorded a rare interim defense at UFC 304 last July. "I'm almost starting to think he's doing it because he can do it, you know?" Longo said on the "Anik & Florian Podcast." "It's like, why does a dog lick its balls? Because it can. It seems like it's a power thing. Like it's, 'We're gonna do this on my timeline and you can't do anything about it.' That's what it seems like to me." Aspinall has repeatedly stated he doesn't want to necessarily fight Jones, but rather he wants the opportunity to become an undisputed champion and begin his title reign. All the while, Jones appears less than interested in giving Apsinall the chance to unify the titles. "That sucks for the fans and that sucks for the UFC," Longo said. "That's why I say I think he's the type of guy, 'I'm gonna do what I want to do, and I don't give a f*ck what you think.' I think that's who he is and that's what he's doing right now. He's holding the power, and that's how he decides to use it. "... The UFC can't do anything. They should strip him of the title. I don't think it's fair to Tom Aspinall. This poor guy's been waiting – he'll be waiting for 15 years before he sees the title. Is that right?" Lead UFC commentator Jon Anik rebutted by saying he believes Jones isn't concerned with being stripped of the title, because if he's going to fight on his timeline, he'll still command the same money, champion or not, and will have the luxury of competing when he's ready. At the same time, Aspinall potentially gets worn down by taking on other fights. Kenny Florian added that the UFC may be in a position where keeping the title around Jones' waist may be more beneficial than not. "You know, Kenny, the only reason I'm going to agree with you is because if you were wrong, they would have did it already," Longo said. "This is a great example of, 'I'm gonna do what's best for me.' If everybody does what's best for them, nothing will f*cking get done, trust me. Somebody's got to be the caretaker and get in there, because that's it. I'll do what's best for me, I'll do what's best for me – and you know what's gonna happen? Nothing. This is what's gonna happen. I think that's where being selfish like that is total bullsh*t. Good luck dealing with that guy. I don't know. The fans suffer, that's what really happens."
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC Champ Jon Jones Says ‘I Don't Know If I Wanna Call It Retired...'
The status of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones remains unclear, but if we are to believe one of Jones's recent social media posts, the champ seems to be in what can best be described as a state of semi-retirement. Jones has been active on social media over the past few days, engaging fans and detractors alike. On Wednesday, Jones was asked by Anthony Scalise, an X account with over 131,000 followers, 'How does it feel to be retired ?' Jones replied to that question, '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.' That post has been viewed over 1.7 million times. One can bet that at least one of those views came from UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who is growing increasingly frustrated by the fact that he cannot get the UFC to book him against Jones in a title unification bout. "I'm well bored of it. I've had enough," Aspinall recently said about the situation. "Either we need to fight, or I need to move on and do something else. And like I said, I'm gonna find out. Literally, today is the day that I've been waiting three, four months for, and I'm gonna find out today what's going on." Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight crown in November 2023 with a knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Aspinall took that fight on short notice when the original main event for that card, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for Jones's heavyweight title was scrapped following an injury to Jones. Despite Aspinall winning the interim crown, UFC CEO Dana White remained steadfast in saying that Jones vs. Miocic was the fight to make. That fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024. Aspinall has been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Miocic became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion. In late April, UFC CEO Dana White addressed rumors about the Jones vs. Aspinall fight. 'Everything you hear is (expletive) until we (the UFC) say it,' White said of all the talk about Jones vs. Aspinall. 'I've said it many times, that's the fight we want to make this year.' White then added that he remains 'super confident' that Jones and Aspinall will meet in 2025 before adding, 'I've said since day one, this will be the biggest heavyweight in the history of the company and in the history of the sport. It's going to be a big one.' We will have updates to the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall / UFC heavyweight title situation as news becomes available.
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Jon Jones Says UFC Has Known His Plans For A Long Time
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones wants fight fans to know the UFC has been aware of his plans for the title and his career, and that he's perplexed why the promotion has not publicly shared those designs. Jones, who is reportedly in Thailand to film a reality show with Nate Diaz, wrote on social media in reference to him not facing UFC interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall in a title unification bout, "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." Jones's comments most likely won't sit well with Aspinall, who seems to be tiring of waiting for a title unification bout with Jones. "I'm well bored of it. I've had enough," Aspinall said on the High Performance Podcast. "Either we need to fight, or I need to move on and do something else. And like I said, I'm gonna find out. Literally, today is the day that I've been waiting three, four months for, and I'm gonna find out today what's going on." Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight crown in November 2023 with a knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Aspinall took that fight on short notice when the original main event for that card, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for Jones's heavyweight title was scrapped following an injury to Jones. Despite Aspinall winning the interim crown, UFC CEO Dana White remained steadfast in saying that Jones vs. Miocic was the fight to make. That fight did not take place until November 2024. Jones held on to his belt that night, beating Miocic by TKO in the third round. By that time, Aspinall had already defended his interim crown, scoring a first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July 2024. Aspinall has been waiting for the title unification bout with Jones since Jones's win over Miocic in November. In late April, Miocic became the longest-serving UFC interim champion, topping the 535-day reign of Renan Barao, who defended his interim title twice before being named undisputed champion. In late April, UFC CEO Dana White addressed rumors about the Jones vs. Aspinall fight. 'Everything you hear is (expletive) until we (the UFC) say it,' White said of all the talk about Jones vs. Aspinall. 'I've said it many times, that's the fight we want to make this year.' White then added that he remains 'super confident' that Jones and Aspinall will meet in 2025 before adding, 'I've said since day one, this will be the biggest heavyweight in the history of the company and in the history of the sport. It's going to be a big one.' We will have more on Jon Jones as news becomes available.
