Tom Aspinall Calls Out Jon Jones for Avoiding a Showdown

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall isn’t holding back as he accuses Jon Jones of ducking a potential showdown between the two.

Aspinall, who has been closely tied to the heavyweight title landscape, made waves with his comments during the UFC 309 Morning Weigh-In show after he was barred from attending the event’s press conference.

“Wait, wait, I’ve got to pull you up there, DC, a little bit because I asked to be at the press conference,” Aspinall told Daniel Cormier. “I was told no. I was trying to go. I got blacklisted from the press conference.”

Jones, who was originally scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, faced a setback due to injury, leading to Aspinall’s interim championship clash with Sergei Pavlovich.

Aspinall secured the belt with an explosive first-round victory and later defended his title by stopping Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July. Despite the interim champ’s stellar performances, the UFC chose to book Jones vs. Miocic as the main event for UFC 309, leaving fans and analysts questioning why the Jones vs. Aspinall unification bout hasn’t happened.

Din Thomas put the question directly to Aspinall, asking if he believes Jones is intentionally avoiding a fight with him. “Yes,” Aspinall responded. “Yeah, he is. He definitely is. I think that there is just an easier path for him, and I understand it. I do understand it completely, understand that there’s bigger fights out there for him with way less risk, and way more money. I understand it. But in all honesty, do I think he’s ducking me? Absolutely.”

Jones has been vocal about his preference for a high-profile, lucrative fight with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira rather than taking on the risk posed by Aspinall. This reluctance, coupled with Aspinall being sidelined from key fight week events like the UFC 309 press conference, has only fueled speculation.

Aspinall expressed confusion over Jones’ fight week behavior, suggesting there could be more at play. “He could’ve had the easiest cop out ever and just said I’m just focusing on Stipe this week. That’s what I would’ve done… But he hasn’t said that, which makes me think, is he just trolling everybody? I don’t know Jon. I don’t know him at all. But can he be that dumb and just flat out say no in front of everybody? I don’t know. I think it might be a technique to push the fight down the line or something. I have no idea,” Aspinall speculated.

With tensions high and Jones keeping his intentions close to the vest, the MMA world will be watching to see if Aspinall’s accusations prompt a response—or a long-awaited fight—after UFC 309.