Tom Aspinall has used many words to describe Jon Jones and it sounds like he’s given up trying to figure “Bones” out.
The No. 1 heavyweight in the world has long called for a matchup with Jones to unify their heavyweight championship belts, with Aspinall holding an interim title and Jones currently recognized as the UFC’s undisputed champion. Aspinall has been a dominant force in the heavyweight division, recording a 8-1 record in the UFC and having already defended his interim title once. Jones, the longtime light heavyweight king, claimed a vacant title by running through Ciryl Gane in March 2023 and then followed that up with one-sided knockout victory over fellow legend Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
A bout between the heavyweight stars makes all the sense in the world on paper, but Jones has publicly shot down a matchup with Aspinall due to Aspinall not being deserving of the fight, in his opinion.
Aspinall recently said he’s “very optimistic” concerning the UFC’s plans for him and whether that involves Jones or not is a mystery. In a recent word association segment with UFC on TNT Sports, Aspinall was asked for his opinion on a number of notable fighters and unsurprisingly, the best was saved for last.
“Strange guy,” Aspinall said, when Jones’ picture came up.
That’s about as far as Aspinall’s trash talk goes in regards to Jones, though he has taken sly shots at the light heavyweight GOAT in the past. Primarily, Aspinall’s public jabs have come in the form of him or his fan base referring to Jones as a “duck” for not signing on for a fight. Even Jones has embraced the duck talk, having changed his Twitter avatar to an image of a duck with a UFC championship belt wrapped around it.
Whether one views Jones’ behavior as strange or strange or cowardly or something else, the ball remains in his court as far as making a fight with Aspinall happen.
Watch the clip above to see what Aspinall had to say about other heavyweight contenders as well as stars Islam Makhachev, Ilia Topuria, and more.
