“Bones” might have found his favorite fighter (no, not him).
Jon Jones finally returns to defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight title at UFC 309 this weekend (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024) against former Heavyweight roost-ruler, Stipe Miocic, in a legacy-defining showdown that will take place inside the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
UFC’s interim Heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, will serve as the pay-per-view (PPV) main event backup fighter (details here) and, in fact, is already en route to “The Big Apple.”
Aspinall has essentially stolen the spotlight from Miocic. Indeed, he even offered the 42-year-old former champion — who holds UFC’s record for most Heavyweight title defenses — advice on how to beat “Bones.”
He wants to fight Jones so bad. And Jones just toys with the Brit … constantly.
However, Damon Jackson — who fights Jim Miller on UFC 309’s “Prelims” undercard — wants Aspinall to stop whining about potentially fighting Jones next.
“Nobody likes Tom, I hate to say it,” Jackson told Parry Punch. “I think he’s a great fighter, for sure. He’s annoying as f—k. He gets so whiny about the whole Jon Jones thing. You’re not going to say anything that’s going to draw him out to fight you at all.
“If he wants to fight you, he’ll fight,” Jackson continued. “If he doesn’t, then just shut up about it because it’s not going to happen … and he just looks petty. I get what he’s saying, for sure — he should be called the champion.
“But, the fact that he’s whining and complaining about Jon fighting Stipe — that fight was already booked before he was even interim champion,” Jackson concluded. “And the reason it didn’t happen was because Jon got hurt. It happens all the time. It’s not like he’s inactive. Everyone gets pissed when Dana calls him the greatest of all time. Like, he is.
It looks like Jackson might be trying to get a pay raise from UFC CEO, Dana White, for being such a good company man while backing Jones vs. Miocic.
There’s no doubt that Aspinall should be the one to fight Jones next to unify UFC’s Heavyweight championship. Still, the future looks bleak for the United Kingdom fighter because “Bones” would rather relinquish the title and go hunt a “BMF” title instead against Alex Pereira.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 309 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 309: “Jones vs. Miocic” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.