Tag: Jon Jones

‘Nobody Likes Tom’ – UFC Fighter Tells Aspinall to ‘Stop Whining’ About Jon Jones

‘Nobody Likes Tom’ - UFC Fighter Tells Aspinall to ‘Stop Whining’ About Jon JonesDamon Jackson is tired of hearing Tom Aspinall whine about Jon Jones supposedly ducking him. On Saturday night, Jones…

‘Nobody Likes Tom’ - UFC Fighter Tells Aspinall to ‘Stop Whining’ About Jon Jones

Damon Jackson is tired of hearing Tom Aspinall whine about Jon Jones supposedly ducking him.

On Saturday night, Jones will return to the Octagon for the first time since his quickfire submission victory over Ciryl Gane to claim the undisputed heavyweight title. To the delight of some and the chagrin of many, ‘Bones’ will finally face two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

Meanwhile, interim champion Tom Aspinall will continue to sit on the sidelines and wait to see if his next fight will be against Jones, Miocic, or possibly neither.

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Aspinall has been quite vocal about his displeasure with the situation at heavyweight. Specifically, Jones avoiding a title unification clash with him in order to pursue a legacy fight against Miocic that amounts to very little in the grand scheme of things.

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Damon Jackson insists aspinall’s constant complains make him look ‘petty’

And while a majority of fighters and fans have seemingly sided with Aspinall, Damon Jackson is definitely not one of them.

“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*ck. 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. 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. 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” (h/t MMA Mania).

Jackson will be back in action this weekend and in desperate need of a big win after coming up short in three of his last four outings. The Leech’ will face Octagon icon Jim Miller during the UFC 309 prelims as the promotion makes its annual pit stop inside the legendary Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Damon Jackson

Miller will be making his 45th walk to the Octagon and — like Jackson — is looking to climb back into the win column after suffering a unanimous decision loss against ‘King’ Bobby Green at UFC 300.

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Daniel Cormier Reveals Dana White Sent $1 Million Bonus After First Loss to Jon Jones

Daniel Cormier Reveals Dana White Sent $1 Million Bonus After First Loss to Jon JonesAfter only making $80,000 for his first fight with Jon Jones, UFC CEO Dana White sent Daniel Cormier a…

Daniel Cormier Reveals Dana White Sent $1 Million Bonus After First Loss to Jon Jones

After only making $80,000 for his first fight with Jon Jones, UFC CEO Dana White sent Daniel Cormier a $1 million bonus check.

Jones vs. Cormier is undoubtedly one of the fiercest rivalries in MMA history. Squaring off against one another on two separate occasions, the animosity between the consensus GOAT and the former two-division titleholder remains as strong as ever.

Daniel Cormier

Looking back on their first-ever meeting at UFC 182 in January 2015, ‘DC’ revealed that he’d only made a paltry $80,000 to show. That matched with sponsorship money earned him roughly 150k for one of the biggest events of the year. According to Tapology, Jones vs. Cormier brought in 800,000 buys at $59.99. That translates to roughly $48 million even before you factor the gate and what the promotion took in via sponsorship deals of their own.

Understandably, Cormier was frustrated with the payday after all the work he’d put in and the amount of money the UFC raked it. Luckily, White was quick to make it right with ‘DC’ and sent the Hall of Famer a million dollar check the very next day.

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“Back in 2015, I fought Jon Jones for the first time,” Cormier said on The Pivot. “I was making $80,000 to show up and $80,000 to win. I lost. All that, and I made $80,000. And I made like $80,000 on sponsorships on that night. I was like, ‘Man, for all that, I’m gonna make $150,000, it’s crazy.’

“Dana White calls me two days later, ‘Y’all killed it. The numbers were out of this world; we’re going to send you $1 million. Dude sent me a check for $1 million the next day” (h/t Bloody Elbow).

Daniel Cormier insists fighters are often taken care of behind the scenes

UFC fighter pay has been under scrutiny for years as the organization typically shares 15-20% of its total revenue with fighters — an especially low amount when compared to other professional sports organizations like the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL who regularly hover around a 50% revenue share.

However, Cormier stressed that fighters often receive bonuses behind the scenes that are not disclosed to the public.

“And then, it was Lorenzo Fertitta at the time; he was the owner. Lorenzo liked his champions making $1 million. So, even if your fight purse was $350,000, and you sold another $300,000 in pay-per-views, he’d send you another $400,000 to make sure you made $1 million every time you got in there.”

“So, they try to protect the athlete a little bit by not showing exactly what you make. A lot of it is hidden. And you also make money on the pay-per-view side. So, if you become a guy like Conor McGregor, like Jones, like Israel Adesanya — you start selling pay-per-views, man, you get $2 a buy, $3 a buy, $4 a buy. Then that money really starts to go.”

Daniel Cormier

UFC Changed Gloves for 309 Event to Accommodate Jon Jones

Jon Jones caused the UFC 309 Glove ChangeAhead of UFC 309, the organizational heads at the UFC changed the gloves in an effort to please their…

Jon Jones caused the UFC 309 Glove Change

Ahead of UFC 309, the organizational heads at the UFC changed the gloves in an effort to please their heavyweight champion, Jon Jones. Bones’ Jones is set to face Stipe Miocic in the New York main event and revealed the glove change reason during a pre-fight press conference.

Jon Jones caused the UFC 309 Glove Change

On Tuesday, word went out that the UFC would be switching to their old glove design for UFC 309 hosted in New York but no official word was offered as to why. The New York State Athletic Commission has approved either pair of gloves for use at MMA events hosted in the state.

At a pre-fight press conference, the heavyweight champion of the UFC explained that they changed the gloves at this event because he found the new glove design uncomfortable in training. He told Hunter Campbell, the leader of UFC operations, over the phone, and Campbell decided that they could switch from their new gloves to old ones for this event to appease Jon Jones.

Jones found the new glove design to not fit his hands well and complained to management who then changed the plans. According to ‘Bones,’ Hunter Campbell said:

“Everyone on this card are veterans; why put a bunch of vets in new gloves?”

Jon Jones is set to defend his heavyweight throne against the former division champion Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 main event wearing the old-style UFC gloves which he finds to be more comfortable.

UFC Gloves

UFC Vet Questions Jon Jones’ Handling Of Aspinall Avoidance: ‘Should Have Sent A PR Trainer To Him’

Former longtime UFC welterweight Matt Brown believes heavyweight champion Jon Jones should have approached his refusal to fight Tom Aspinall differently. Jones is currently days away from his first defense of the 265-pound crown, which he captured at the expense of Ciryl Gane in March 2023. Having been sidelined through injury since, “Bones” will meet […]

Continue Reading UFC Vet Questions Jon Jones’ Handling Of Aspinall Avoidance: ‘Should Have Sent A PR Trainer To Him’ at MMA News.

Former longtime UFC welterweight Matt Brown believes heavyweight champion Jon Jones should have approached his refusal to fight Tom Aspinall differently.

Jones is currently days away from his first defense of the 265-pound crown, which he captured at the expense of Ciryl Gane in March 2023. Having been sidelined through injury since, “Bones” will meet returning former champ Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 main event.

The pair were originally set to collide last November prior to Jones’ injury. An interim champ subsequently joined the fray when Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovich, but that fact hasn’t stopped “Bones” from pursuing Miocic.

His decision to avoid unifying the title has proved to be a controversial one. And UFC 309 fight week has even seen Jones suggest that the continuation of his fighting career beyond this weekend would only be to face light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira.

During a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s The Fighter vs. The Writer show, Brown pointed to that statement as a big mistake on Jones’ part.

“The fact that he brought up that he is going to fight again, and it’s not going to be the current interim champion, that’s a mistake on his part,” Brown said. “UFC should have sent a PR trainer out there to him or something. ‘How about we don’t talk about the future and focus on what we’re doing now. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.’

“But he crossed the bridge and opened up the door. He has to know when he says that, there’s going to be criticism that he’s ducking,” Brown continued. “It’s not a good look. Jon don’t give a f*ck. He just says it.”

Should Jones be set to stick to his stance post-his planned victory this weekend, it would appear that Aspinall will be relying on a late-notice withdrawal from Miocic to make his dream of fighting the all-time great a reality.

The Brit is currently in New York City to weigh in as backup fighter for the UFC 309 main event. Beyond his assignment on the scale this Friday, the interim champ’s next step is unclear.

Continue Reading UFC Vet Questions Jon Jones’ Handling Of Aspinall Avoidance: ‘Should Have Sent A PR Trainer To Him’ at MMA News.

Tom Aspinall Questions Respect for Jon Jones for Avoiding Him and Francis Ngannou

Tom Aspinall Slams Jon Jones Ahead of UFC 309Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has responded to Jon Jones during the UFC 309 fight week. Bones’ Jones,…

Tom Aspinall Slams Jon Jones Ahead of UFC 309

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has responded to Jon Jones during the UFC 309 fight week. Bones’ Jones, the heavyweight champion, is set to fight former division king Stipe Miocic instead of the current interim title holder.

Tom Aspinall Slams Jon Jones Ahead of UFC 309

The English-born Tom Aspinall has put together an impressive win streak in the UFC heavyweight division. He has now captured and defended the UFC interim title. ‘Bones’ Jones is the UFC heavyweight champion, having captured the title in early 2023 but has yet to defend it.

Aspinall explained on his YouTube:

“I’m a bit disappointed that Jon, as the great champion he is, doesn’t want to give other guys the opportunity. Most champions would want to put the guy breathing down their neck in their place. If Jon thinks I don’t deserve it, then show me. If you kick my ass in front of the whole world, I’ll happily put my hand out and say, ‘You’re the better man, no problem.’ But this ducking and diving isn’t something I respect.

“This isn’t about Jon’s career, his legacy, or who he’s fighting—it’s because I want that belt. That’s all I care about. I want to prove I’m the No. 1 heavyweight on the planet, and he’s avoiding me.”

The UK-born fighter explained that Jones did the same thing to former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, Aspinall continued:

“Don’t be surprised that Jon always takes fights where he has an advantage. He avoided Francis Ngannou for three years. Jon always picks fights where he’s at an advantage, and that’s just a fact. I’m not coming after Jon personally, I’m coming after the belt. He has what I deserve, and I want to prove I’m the guy.”

On the UFC 309 main event, Tom Aspinall made his feelings clear about Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, adding:

“Two champions are fighting, and one of them—Jon Jones—is avoiding the other champion, me. He’s chosen to fight a 42-year-old Stipe Miocic“

Stipe Miocic Insists He Would Have Returned With Or Without Jon Jones

For many fight fans, a defining trait of the main event of UFC 309 this Saturday night is activity. Whilst the defending heavyweight champion Jon Jones has only has one fight in well over four years, Stipe Miocic hasn’t fought since March of 2021. Not to mention the fact that in that fight, following his […]

Continue Reading Stipe Miocic Insists He Would Have Returned With Or Without Jon Jones at MMA News.

For many fight fans, a defining trait of the main event of UFC 309 this Saturday night is activity. Whilst the defending heavyweight champion Jon Jones has only has one fight in well over four years, Stipe Miocic hasn’t fought since March of 2021.

Not to mention the fact that in that fight, following his testing trilogy with Daniel Cormier that took three years to complete, Miocic was knocked out in devastating fashion by Francis Ngannou in their rematch at UFC 260.

The former two-time heavyweight champion is ready to return after his match-up with Jones was pushed back a year from UFC 295 due to Jones’ injury which only added to the talk about whether this will be a major factor at Madison Square Garden. For Miocic, he’s confident that the time away hasn’t had a negative impact on his ability.

He believes that he’s been able to let his body heal during this period and though he wasn’t dead-set on stepping back inside the Octagon, it was always an option for him after the Ngannou defeat. Miocic has said before that he pushed for a trilogy with his last opponent but when that didn’t happen, things went quiet on his end for quite some time.

In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto for ESPN MMA, the returning challenger said that making a return after his most recent fight was always an option on the table even if it wasn’t an absolute must for him.

“No I was always gonna fight man, I love fighting. I love what I do but I mean, I’m also okay with if it didn’t happen, I was okay with walking away.”

Later on in the interview, Miocic was asked whether he would have made his way back to the Octagon eventually if it wasn’t for this fight. If there was ever a reason to come back after a tough loss followed by a long break, a legacy defining fight against Jones where Miocic could recapture the heavyweight belt and become the first man to beat “Bones” at the same time would surely be the one.

He cut straight to the point, simply stating that he would have come back regardless of whether it was for this fight with Jones or something else.

Continue Reading Stipe Miocic Insists He Would Have Returned With Or Without Jon Jones at MMA News.