Jon Jones: Craig Jones eager to help Tom Aspinall topple Jon Jones and Gordon Ryan after the Australian’s UFC 315 success

Tom Aspinall is expected to face Jon Jones in a heavyweight title unification bout later this year, as per UFC CEO Dana White. Aspinall holds the interim belt, whilst Jones holds the 'undisputed' title. In an unexpected turn of events, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt and coach Craig Jones has volunteered to help the Mancunian in his quest to defeat 'Bones'.

The Australian grappler's motivation to help Aspinall's preparation for a clash with Jones lies in the relationship that the heavyweight champion has with Gordon Ryan, the arch-rival of Jones.

Ryan has worked with 'Bones' for roughly two years and was an integral part of the two-division champion's training camp ahead of his UFC 309 clash with Stipe Miocic.

The Australian BJJ athlete has worked with numerous UFC champions himself, including Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya. Most recently, however, the Australian helped his fellow countryman Jack Della Maddalena win the welterweight title against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.

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After cornering Della Maddalena on May 10, someone commented on a post of Jones' and requested that he help Aspinall prepare for the American, with the added bonus of Ryan being involved too. The fan wrote:

"Can we please have Craig in Tom Aspinall's camp for Jones just to stick it to Gordon?"

Jones responded with:

"@Tomaspinallofficial let's take out the flamboyant man."

Aspinall replied to Jones with an emoji:

"@craigjonesbjj 🤝"

Check out the interaction between Jones and Aspinall below:

Following Della Maddalena's win over Muhammad, Jones took to Instagram and posted this:

Tom Aspinall shares raw reaction to breaking record for longest interim title reign in UFC history

Tom Aspinall secured the UFC heavyweight interim title after knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. However, instead of unifying the title against the 'undisputed' champion Jon Jones in his next fight, Aspinall and 'Bones' both defended their respective titles against other fighters.

The Brit knocked out Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 before 'Bones' defeated Stipe Miocic by TKO at UFC 309. The duo are expected to clash in a unification bout next, as per the promotion's CEO Dana White.

During a recently uploaded video on Aspinall's YouTube channel, he was informed that he now held the record for the longest interim-title reign in UFC history. He reacted with this:

"Yeah, that is bulls**t, innit? That is not something that I wanted. No, I'm not that proud of that one to be honest. The interim title is nice, but not the longest reigning one."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (2:10):

About the author

Liam is a MMA and Boxing writer at Sportskeeda. His journey into MMA journalism began with a high school diploma in 2017, but his passion for writing led him to diverse experiences, including internships in research and writing roles and accounting work.

Liam's fascination with MMA was sparked by Conor McGregor, with Dustin Poirier's bout against Dan Hooker in 2020 sealing his love for the sport. Poirier remains Liam's favorite fighter, whom he admires for his attitude, fighting style, and persona both inside and outside the cage. He is an advocate for the removal of the 12-6 elbow rule in MMA.

Liam strives to report precise and relevant information by cross-checking his work, reaching out to relevant sources for comments, and adhering to Sportskeeda's guidelines. His work has been recognized on popular MMA platforms, with his article headlines featuring in YouTube recaps and appearing onscreen during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

Outside of work, Liam enjoys playing cricket, practising Brazilian jiu-jitsu, cooking, music, and reading.

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Edited by C. Naik