UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall revealed that people around Jon Jones' social circle informed him that Jones had no intention of accepting a fight against him.
Aspinall was crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion after 'Bones' announced his retirement from MMA. The Brit had long awaited a title unification bout against Jones and even defended his interim title in the meantime. Now, he has finally achieved his dream of becoming the heavyweight kingpin.
Aspinall recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he confessed to Helwani that he was aware Jones would not be returning to action anytime soon. He said:
"I know people who have been out in Thailand at similar times that [Jon Jones] was there. I know people who are around his circle, and I know that from the behavior that he's doing outside the octagon, that he's not going to fight anytime soon."
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Check out Tom Aspinall's comments about Jon Jones below:
Jon Jones says fight against Tom Aspinall was never a done deal
Jon Jones has taken to social media to contradict UFC CEO Dana White's previous statements, suggesting that Jones vs. Tom Aspinall was once agreed upon and that 'Bones' accepted the deal.
After retirement, Jones, during a Q&A on X, stated that the fight was never finalized and confessed that he had retired in November 2024, but was told to reconsider his decision.
"If the fight was done, trust me, I would be fighting. Did we start negotiating at one point? Yes, but if I was never done. My job at the time was to sit back and be quiet about it, and that's exactly what I did. I was enjoying my life. That should've been obvious to you guys."
Jones added:
"I was told 1000 times to just reconsider and give it more time. That's the truth."
Check out Jon Jones' comments below: