SUMMARY
- Previously, there has been a lot of talk about Tom Aspinall deserving the opportunity to unify the heavyweight title.
- Tom believes that Jon Jones does not want to fight him.
Tom Aspinall is one of the UFC’s new stars and the pioneer of a new generation of fighters. Having made an impressive start to life, Aspinall has gone on to lay his claim to the heavyweight title. Now the Interim Champion, Tom, has revealed what his life is like as he waits for his title shot.
Previously, there has been a lot of talk about Aspinall deserving the opportunity to unify the Heavyweight title. With his victory over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295, the Englishman has put himself in pole position to fight Jon Jones. Notably, it has also put him in the crosshairs of some very angry fans online. In an interview with OLBG, Tom reveals what he has had to put up with in recent times.
As such, the heavyweight reveals, “The internet is a strange place. I clicked on my message requests by accident the other day and people are sending me death threats for wanting to fight Jon Jones, who’s the best in the world and it’s madness.” Further, the 30-year-old went on to add that despite the overflowing amount of love he receives, there are some ‘fans’ who can’t stand to watch him succeed.
Tom Aspinall’s feud with Jon Jones
As mentioned previously, Tom Aspinall secured the Interim title at UFC 295 and set his sights on Jon Jones. For those unaware, Jones was meant to be the one to headline UFC 295 against Stipe Miocic but withdrew due to a torn pectoral injury. As such, the UFC matched Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich to fight instead. Despite his constant callouts, Aspinall was mostly aired by the heavyweight champion.
As such, the Englishman opted for a more focused approach, publicly calling out Jones and discrediting his resume. Eventually, the heavyweight champion responded, trashing Aspinall for calling for a fight to begin with. Despite his rebuttals, many couldn’t help but notice that Jones never directly agreed to fight Aspinall. Notably, their back and forth led to a full-blown spectacle on social media as well.
LET HIM COOK pic.twitter.com/6hyOp6jt87
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) January 9, 2024
In the interview, Tom believes that Jones does not want to fight him. “When I start talking about wanting to fight him he starts talking about resumes and history and the things that he’s done that’s better than me.” Further, he responds, “It doesn’t matter about resumes, I just want to fight him and beat him right now and he doesn’t want to do that.” Notably, Aspinall believes that there are other powers at play as well.
Tom Aspinall believes that the UFC will not allow him to fight Jon Jones
For the most part, Tom Aspinall believes that his desire to fight Jon Jones ultimately depends on the UFC. As things stand, it is believed that Jones, when he does return, will fight Stipe Miocic. After that, both fighters will reportedly retire, thus sealing their legacy as two of the greatest in the sport. Thus, as Aspinall sees it, his involvement would prevent such a thing from happening.
Hence, the Englishman believes the UFC has put him on ice in the meantime. “The UFC do not want it,” Aspinall said. “I don’t know why this is happening, money I guess.” Understandably, a Jones vs. Miocic fight would be the perfect way to finish their story, and the proposed GOAT vs. GOAT matchup would also attract a lot of eyeballs. As Tom suggests, the UFC is protecting their own interests and Jones from him.
With that said, Aspinall believes that he will be meeting either Cutis Blaydes or Ciryl Gane in the future. With the only loss on his record being an injury loss in 2022, the UFC will likely try to make the fight again. In the event that Blaydes loses to Jailton Almeida at UFC 299, former interim champion Gane will likely be given the shot against Aspinall.