Conor McGregor wants to see Jon Jones fight Tom Aspinall.
After Jones’ third-round TKO against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 to retain the undisputed heavyweight title, ‘Bones’ left the door open for a return to the Octagon and indicated that a unification clash with Aspinall — the promotion’s current interim champion — was definitely in the cards.
Aspinall, who was on hand at MSG and banked 200k just to weigh in as the official backup for the heavyweight headliner, thinks Jones’ ego is what will ultimately lead to their long-awaited showdown finally coming to fruition.
“I think he secretly wants it,’ Aspinall told Ariel Helwani. ‘Because he has a gigantic ego, and he should have, he’s one of the best fighters ever. He hates the fact that people are saying that I could beat him, he can’t sleep at night.
“He keeps mentioning it over and over again that he doesn’t care about me, he thinks he’s above me and all that. This is all projecting, all of it. He knows, deep down he knows and he just has to keep saying it because he has to defend himself” (h/t DailyMail).
Conor McGregor reacts to potential jones vs. aspinall fight
Once Aspinall’s comments made the rounds on social media, McGregor chimed in and offered a not-so-favorable review of some of the Brit’s recent sparring footage.
“That footage of him looking woeful vs Rico Verhoeven is good footage to watch for Jon,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted post on X. “I’ve warmed to this matchup, I think it should happen.”
To be fair, Verhoeven — the reigning GLORY Kickboxing heavyweight champion and undefeated in nearly a decade — is considered by many to be the greatest kickboxer on the planet. Verhoeven has trained with Aspinall for many years. The UFC star shared clips of the two sparring together earlier this month on YouTube.
Tom Aspinall releases sparring footage with Glory Heavyweight Champion Rico Verhoeven
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 14, 2024
Tom Aspinall releases sparring footage with Glory Heavyweight Champion Rico Verhoeven
