Jon Jones Scoffs At Tom Aspinall’s Demand To Strip Him Of UFC Title: “That’s Hilarious”
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has hit back at Tom Aspinall after the latter called for his title to be stripped.
Aspinall’s comments came in the aftermath of the news that Jones had injured his pectoral muscle in sparring. This resulted in his fight against Stipe Miocic being called off. Instead, Aspinall was put on the UFC 295 card to take on Sergei Pavlovich. The Brit stopped his opponent in the first round for the interim belt. It turned out that Jones required surgery, which will keep him out of action until sometime in 2024. That is why the Brit called for him to be elevated to a full champion, with a title defense against Miocic being ordered.
Aspinall On Jones
“I think Jon Jones should be stripped from the title to be honest, because everyone else does when they get injured like that. [And] I don’t see why he’s still got it. I don’t understand that. I think I should be the real champion right now. It’s hard to say without sounding rude, but who’s asked about Jon Jones and Stipe anymore? Again, who’s going to be bothered by that fight in a years time? Let’s move on. I’m the champion now. I’ll fight Stipe, he’s available. Me and Stipe will fight, and then when I beat Stipe, I’ll fight Jon Jones,” Aspinall said
Despite this being the case, Dana White has ruled that out. The CEO of the UFC confirmed that the belt would remain with Jones since the Miocic fight is arguably the most important fight of their career. Prior to the fight, there were reports that the winner could retire from the sport. Jones is arguably the best MMA fighter of all time.
After having been out of the octagon for three years, Jones returned to beat Ciryl Gane in the first round via a submission to secure the vacant title. Meanwhile, Miocic has often been branded the best heavyweight of all time. And yet, he was stopped in his last fight by Francis Ngannou as he fell short in the heavyweight title clash. With that being said, Jones had a slight dig at Aspinall without referring to him by name.
Jones On Aspinall
“I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now. During camp for a title defense, I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career.Now I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped. Zero wins over legends, zero title defenses and already thinking you can call the shots to Dana, that’s hilarious. In my 15-year career, I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing. There’s ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that,” Jones stated
Nevertheless, if Apsinall continues to rack up the wins, a fight between him and Jones will be inevitable. But that all depends on Bones returning from his injury and getting past Miocic. At the age of 36, Bones is in the latter part of his career, which is why every fight is crucial.
