Aspinall Drops Major Hint Over Jones Fight – ‘Good News Coming’
Tom Aspinall has dropped a major hint that a fight with Jon Jones could be announced very soon.
The UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion secured the title shot after stopping Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in his last fight. Aspinall has been chasing Jones for a while. Talk over the fight has increased after the UFC Heavyweight Champion stopped Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in his last fight.
Jones had suggested a fight against Alex Pereira as an alternative. Dana White stated that the Brazilian could face the winner of Jones vs. Aspinall. However, Pereira lost his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Magomed Ankalaev in his last fight at UFC 313. The Russian managed to outwork his opponent to secure a unanimous decision win. That gave Pereira his first defeat at light heavyweight.
That has now reduced the incentive for Jones to face Pereira since the Brazilian has lost his fear factor. Pereira also does not have a belt, which rules out a fight at light heavyweight. Meanwhile, there is less of a demand for Pereira to move up to heavyweight to face Jones since his immediate focus will be on getting the title back.
That has paved the way for Aspinall to get that fight unless Jones were to announce his retirement. Bones has talked up his future outside of the UFC, stating that he does have ambitions to enter into more acting. However, based on Aspinall’s following comments, he is confident that a fight can be made, which would be the biggest in the sport.
Aspinall On Jones
“(Jones vs. Pereira is) off the table now. The Alex Pereira fight at heavyweight, or any other weight, really – I mean, I guess he could still fight him at light heavyweight, really. I guess. But it won’t be for a title. Yeah – Jon: There’s only one thing to do, mate. Sign the contract and let’s get a date going. We’ve seen last night Dana White was talking. Everything is now done on Jon’s side and the UFC now have to find a date and a venue, a place, location. So we’re waiting for that. We’ve got some good news coming soon, hopefully,” Aspinall said
If the fight against Jones does not happen, Aspinall will have to turn his attention elsewhere. There are still other leading contentions in the heavyweight division. He could target a fight with Cyril Gane, who faced Jones for the heavyweight title in 2023. Gane, on that occasion, suffered a first-round submission loss as Jones marked a successful return to the sport after three years out.
There is also the opportunity To face Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich. Although Aspinall has wins over those two, they are still ranked in the top five of the UFC rankings, meaning that they are credible opponents. Alternatively, if Jones ends up vacating his title, Aspinall will be in a position to fight for the vacant belt against the next highest-ranked opponent. Either way, things are looking bright for Aspinall moving forward, as he was confident a deal could be done.
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