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Tom Aspinall admits he’s fearful of fight with UFC star Jon Jones: ‘Absolutely I fear him, but it feels me’

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall admits he fears Jon Jones, but he says that fuels him. Aspinall became…

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall admits he fears Jon Jones, but he says that fuels him.

Aspinall became the interim champ back in November and is hopeful to face Jones in the very near future. However, ‘Bones is focused on getting the Stipe Miocic fight, and after that, he could walk away from the sport.

Tom Aspinall shuts down title fights with Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic I'm too dangerous

But, if the bout happens, Tom Aspinall says he does fear Jon Jones but he thinks that would bring the best out of him.

“Well, I’m obviously confident that I could beat Jon Jones, because I want to fight him,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel (via MMAMania). “I’m not making it a secret that I want to fight him. I’ve done everything that I can until this point. I want to prove that I’m the best in the world. I want to fight Jon Jones, obviously. But he doesn’t, so there’s not a lot I can do about that…”

“Do I fear him? Absolutely,” Aspinall added. “I fear all of my opponents. Like, these guys are the best in the world, the absolute best in the world. Absolutely I fear him, but that fuels me.”

Jon Jones comes face to face with Tom Aspinall quickly takes hand off shoulder in tense meeting

Tom Aspinall has spoken about how he was fearful of opponents in the past, as he admitted he was scared of Sergei Pavlovich, but that helped motivate him, which he ended up winning by first-round TKO.

Tom Aspinall Says Curtis Blaydes Could Be His Next Opponent

Although Tom Aspinall has been trying to secure a fight with Jon Jones, it does seem unlikely, and instead, he says he is open to defending his interim title next time out in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes.

Tom Aspinall calls for Curtis Blaydes title fight with UFC England PPV set I want to get that one back — Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

“I’d like to fight Curtis Blaydes because when I fought him I got injured and that means that technically he wins and I don’t like that,” Aspinall said. “I want to be the winner, not Curtis Blaydes, so all respect to Curtis and everything. Like him, good guy, professionally I owe him a beating, so that’s what I want to do next.”

Aspinall and Blaydes fought back in 2022 and just 15 seconds into the bout, the Brit tore his knee, which is why he wants to get that fight back.

UFC icon Georges St-Pierre dubs Jon Jones modern-day GOAT of MMA: ‘It’s hard to find someone better’

When it comes to modern-day mixed martial arts, UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre believes Jon Jones is the…

When it comes to modern-day mixed martial arts, UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre believes Jon Jones is the greatest.

Debating who belongs at the top of MMA’s pound-for-pound list has never been GSP’s forte. ‘Rush’ insists that the world’s greatest combat sports athlete likely hasn’t even been born yet, but when picking from today’s crop of MMA icons, St-Pierre is adamant that there is no one who does it better than the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight world champion.

“In terms of where we are now, I think it’s hard to find someone better than Jon Jones,” St-Pierre told Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “Jon Jones is so good. Jon Jones is extremely talented, but he’s also extremely tough. People have no idea how tough he is. I’ve trained with him, I’ve seen him going through the grind. He’s so freaking tough. I remember the fight that he had with Vitor Belfort, I think his arm got dislocated, and he fought even with a dislocated arm. Even one of his fights, his toe was broken.

“Most of the time when you have a guy that is very talented, it doesn’t come with toughness. Jon Jones is the full package. He’s got everything. Elite striker, elite grappler, [and] he’s good everywhere. Of course, there’s things that people will say, ‘He did this, he did that,’ but in terms of who’s the best, he came back, beat Ciryl Gane the way he did. It’s hard to have an argument.”

Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre at the UFC Hall of Fame

Jon Jones’ meteoric rise to the top

Since making his MMA debut in 2008, Jon Jones is essentially undefeated with his lone loss coming against Matt Hamill after being disqualified for illegal elbows. Winning the light heavyweight title at UFC 128, ‘Bones’ defended the belt against a crop of MMA legends, including Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, and Alexander Gustafsson. After amassing 11 defenses over two separate reigns, Jones vacated the title in 2020 and announced his inevitable transition to heavyweight.

Fans would have to wait more than three years to see Jones step back inside the Octagon, returning at UFC 285 to challenge Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight strap. It only took ‘Bones’ 124 seconds to submit ‘Bon Gamin’ to add another world title to his collection.

Jones was scheduled to defend his title against Stipe Miocic in November, but after suffering a pectoral tear weeks ahead of fight night, ‘Bones’ was forced to bow out of the bout. No official announcement has been made regarding his return, but UFC CEO Dana White is holding out hope that Jones vs. Miocic will go down sometime this summer.

Tom Aspinall giving up on Jon Jones fight, teases potential return at UFC Manchester event in July

Tom Aspinall is done trying to goad Jon Jones into a fight. Aspinall, who currently sits as the UFC’s…

Tom Aspinall is done trying to goad Jon Jones into a fight.

Aspinall, who currently sits as the UFC’s interim heavyweight world champion, has been in limbo ever since his 69-second knockout of Sergei Pavlovich in November to capture the temporary title.

Traditionally, the interim champ would move on to meet the undisputed titleholder — that being Jon Jones — once cleared for a return. Unfortunately, for Aspinall, that does not appear to be the case.

‘Bones’ has remained insistent that he will settle some business with consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic before even humoring a potential clash with Aspinall. As a result, the Salford, England native is looking for a fight elsewhere.

Answering questions on his YouTube channel, Tom Aspinall was asked about the possibility of competing in July when the promotion returns to Manchester. He could neither confirm nor deny rumors of his return, but noted that conversations are taking place and moving “in the right direction.”

“I cannot confirm or deny because I will be getting told off if I do either, but I’m hearing strong rumors and I’m in talks right now with the UFC about what’s going to happen, what’s going to be the next step, stuff like that,” Aspinall said. “Nothing that I can announce yet, nothing set in stone yet, but we’re moving in the right direction with it all” (h/t MMA Fighting).

As for who Aspinall would face, Curtis Blaydes appears to be the clear-cut favorite. After all, ‘Razor’ is the only man to own a victory over Aspinall inside the Octagon — though that was the result of an injury Aspinall suffered 15 seconds into their UFC Fight Night headliner in July 2022. Still, Aspinall would love the chance to get that one back and rectify the only blemish on his UFC record.

“I’d like to fight Curtis Blaydes because when I fought him I got injured and that means that technically he wins and I don’t like that,” Aspionall said. “I want to be the winner, not Curtis Blaydes, so all respect to Curtis and everything. Like him, good guy, professionally I owe him a beating, so that’s what I want to do next.”

Blaydes is coming off a massive win against Brazilian submission specialist Jailton Almeida at UFC 299, pounding out a victory with a series of brutal hammer fists in the opening minute of round two.

Curtis Blaydes finishes Jailton Almeida with GNP

Tom Aspinall is moving on from Jon Jones

While Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is an exciting fight on paper — pitting two of MMA’s GOATs against one another — the fight means next to nothing in the grand scheme of things. The biggest matchup that can be made in the heavyweight division right now is Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall. And it’s a fight that Aspinall truly believes he can win.

“I’m obviously confident that I could beat Jon Jones because I want to fight him,” Aspinall said. “I’m not making it a secret that I want to fight him. I’ve done everything I can until this point. Do I fear him? Absolutely. I fear all of my opponents. These guys are the best in the world, absolute best in the world. Absolutely I fear him, that fuels me. So I want to prove that I’m the best in the world. I want to fight Jon Jones, obviously, but he doesn’t, so there’s not a lot I can do about that.”

Recently, Aspinall and Jones met up at an event in Birmingham with the interim champ asking for the fight face-to-face. Jones, of course, was non-committal, and based on the undisputed titleholder’s body language during the somewhat awkward interaction, Aspinall would be downright shocked if the two of them ever stepped foot inside the Octagon.

“No, I don’t think Jon wants to fight,” Aspinall said. “Obviously, I want it. I can’t do anymore. I’ve bitched about him, I’ve cried about him, I’ve said good stuff to him, said bad stuff to him, I’ve asked him about fighting to his face, it’s still not going on. I’ve asked the UFC to fight him, it’s still not going on, so I don’t know what else I can do at this point. But I want the fight, obviously.”

Dana White jibes at Khabib Nurmagomedov over GOAT claim amid retirement: ‘He just didn’t stick around a lot’

UFC CEO Dana White shares his thoughts on the MMA greatest of all-time discussion. MMA has seen a wide…

UFC CEO Dana White shares his thoughts on the MMA greatest of all-time discussion.

MMA has seen a wide range of talent across all generations, but when the often trivial ‘GOAT’ discussion is brought up typically you will get the same few names. Depending on what your requirements for the top spot may be, you’ll usually get Jon Jones, George St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, or if you’re a newer fan, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Khabib Nurmagomedov urges son away from chasing MMA career athletes are not normal people UFC — Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

However, when asked on his thoughts White feels the answer is obvious. When asked by Lex Friedman on his podcast, White professed former light-heavyweight and current heavyweight title holder, Jones.

“Jon Jones — there’s no debate,” White said. “Nobody can debate who’s the greatest of all time. It’s absolutely positively Jon Jones. He’s never lost. He’s never been beaten in the Octagon ever.

“He destroyed everybody at Light Heavyweight, which at the time was the toughest weight class in the company and the sport,” White continued. “And then he moved up to heavyweight, won easily at heavyweight. And the other thing is that you have to factor in too is longevity. It’s undeniable. You can hate all you want. Jon Jones is the greatest of all time.”

Dana White claims Khabib Nurmagomedov was in the running to be the GOAT

This is all of course despite their long-standing hot-and-cold relationship that has been exacerbated by Jones’ personal issues and contract disputes.

After winning the title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, Jones was expected to bounce back in November of last year, booked to face Stipe Miocic for his first title defence.

Jon Jones shuts down retirement talk ahead of UFC return I can't just walk away — Mandatory Credit: Chris Graythen

However, an injury forced Jones out of the bout, and while nothing has been booked a far more deserving number one contender has emerged in the form of Tom Aspinall.

This has forced a logjam at heavyweight, something that has plagued the division for some time now.

Is Jon Jones — or Khabib Nurmagomedov your GOAT?

UFC urged to strip Jon Jones of championship amid injury layoff: ‘If he doesn’t return soon, you have to remove his belt’

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos thinks Tom Aspinall is the real heavyweight king. Aspinall is the current…

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos thinks Tom Aspinall is the real heavyweight king.

Aspinall is the current interim heavyweight champion as he scored a first-round knockout over Sergei Pavlovich back in November. The current heavyweight champion is Jon Jones who won the title in March with a submission win over Ciryl Gane but has not fought since then due to injuries.

Given that Jones hasn’t fought in a year, dos Santos views Aspinall as the real heavyweight champion.

“He’s the man of the moment, so he should be considered the champion,” dos Santos said on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “If Jon Jones doesn’t return soon, you have to remove his belt and make Aspinall’s belt undisputed. I think he’s doing great, he really is very tough and skilled and competent at what he does. It’s a new moment for the heavyweight division in the UFC.”

Junior dos Santos says Jon Jones – StipeMiocic doesn’t need the belt attached to it

Although dos Santos thinks Tom Aspinall is the real heavyweight champ, he knows the UFC won’t strip Jon Jones because they want the fight against Stipe Miocic to be for the belt.

Stipe Miocic interim title fight offer for UFC 295 would be "completely disrespectful" dana white — Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

However, the Brazilian thinks Jones vs. Miocic doesn’t need to be for the belt for people to care, so he thinks the UFC should strip Jones.

“The belt is obviously the goal for every athlete, but more to crown the position they are today,” dos Santos said. “The belt is a symbol that you’re No. 1, but Jon Jones and even Miocic, we already know they are the No. 1 and No. 2, or at least that they’re at the top of the division. Actually, Renan [Ferreira] just got in the mix. [Laughs.]

Jon Jones undergoes new elbow surgery amid UFC absence your boy's back in the sling

“But I think they’re both extremely experienced and have long careers, so they should do what’s best for them. There’s no point to fight only to fight, or to do things that they don’t believe in at this stage of their careers. Let’s see what happens next.”

Although dos Santos thinks the UFC should strip Jones, it does seem unlikely that will happen.

Do you agree with Junior dos Santos?