Aspinall's Alternatives To Jon Jones

Tom Aspinall is struggling to make the Jon Jones fight, as we look at who he could face instead.

Aspinall defended his interim belt with a TKO win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, making him the longest-reigning interim champ in UFC history. Jones, who won the title with a dominant first-round submission over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, has faced increasing pressure to face Aspinall.

Jones retired Stipe Miocic with a stoppage win at UFC 309 but has given mixed signals about his future. Despite the momentum behind Aspinall, Jones remains unfazed. Jones mocked a Change.org petition—now surpassing 100,000 signatures—calling for him to be stripped of his title, joking that Aspinall is just giving him “free promotion.” 

"Just wrapped up the biggest seminar in Phuket history. Half the crowd flew in from the UK—how wild is that?! Massive shoutout to my guy Tom for all the free promo… couldn’t have done it without you. Seriously though, I’m beyond grateful for this brand new UK following. You guys showed up with so much love and energy, and I felt every bit of it. Let’s keep this momentum going—make sure to sign that petition today, we’re pushing 200k! How exciting," Jones said

Options

If the fight does not happen, Aspinall could face the following people. He has been linked with a Ciryl Gane fight. The latter missed out on the heavyweight title after Jones submitted him at UFC 285 in the first round. Since that loss, Gane has racked up two wins, beating Serghei Spivac and Alexander Volkov, respectively. Aspinall has previously accused Gane of ducking, something which he denied.

Another alternative is to rematch Alexander Volkov. Aspinall stopped him in their first clash in the first round. Since then, Volkov has won four on the spin before losing his last fight to Gane. Those wins have propelled him to third in the UFC rankings, making him a credible name. 

Another option could be Derrick Lewis. Lewis is currently ranked ninth in the rankings. He has two wins in his last three fights. He takes on Tallison Teixeira in his next fight, as a win could set up an Apsinall fight. Aspinall has said he is willing to move on from Jones. 

"I’ve seen a lot of people comparing me to Michael Chandler. [Chandler] waited a long time for Conor McGregor. I’m not waiting for one fight, Im not trying to fight one guy. I’m trying to fight all the guys, and I’m trying to be the guy at heavyweight who takes out everybody.

"It doesn’t matter who it is, Ciryl Gane, Volkov rematch, Almeida, Derrick Lewis, Brock Lesnar. Whoever it is, I don’t care. If you thought Aspinall was all talk, and that he’ll continue waiting for Jones, think again — again. Let’s not talk about Jon Jones anymore. I’m the active guy. I’m gonna fight somebody, and that’s gonna be announced pretty soon," Aspinall said

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