Back on Dec. 13, 2024, Tom Aspinall took part in an interview with Piers Morgan. During their sitdown, the then-interim UFC heavyweight champion compared his résumé to Jon Jones' with complete honesty and no ego. He conceded to the reality of Jones having a much stronger MMA legacy than his own.
This was brought up by Jones himself in an attempt to justify his dismissal of Aspinall as an opponent, which had little to do with why the Brit felt confident in his ability to beat him. He never denigrated Jones' record or described his own as superior, only claimed that he could beat him in a fight.
"I agree with a lot of what Jon says. When you put the résumés next to each other, his résumé is far superior to mine. The risk/reward for both of us, his risk is he has everything to lose. He's amazing at everything."
When Morgan asked Aspinall if he was more skilled than Jones at any facet of MMA, Aspinall shut it down before explaining why he is such a dangerous opponent for 'Bones.'
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"No, but I'm way younger and way more athletic and way bigger. I possess a power that he's never seen before or even come close to, but like I said, I completely agree with everything that he says in terms of résumé. But it's not about Jon's résumé. It's about who's the best in the world right now, and I think it's me."
Check out Tom Aspinall's thoughts on Jon Jones below (13:05):
Aspinall spent the better part of 2024 chasing a matchup with Jones. However, despite assurances from UFC CEO Dana White that the bout would indeed happen, it never did.
Tom Aspinall is now the new undisputed UFC heavyweight champion
Despite tremendous fan interest in a heavyweight title unification between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall and the UFC's apparent willingness to meet Jones' asking price, the latter ultimately opted against defending his undisputed heavyweight title. Instead, he announced his abrupt retirement.
This has led to Aspinall's promotion to undisputed heavyweight champion, but it comes as a bittersweet development for fans. Some, though, like UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, believe that 'Bones' will come out of retirement if/when Aspinall loses.