Tom Aspinall says that he wants to fight for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title soon, regardless of whether it comes against Jon Jones or not.
Aspinall, the interim champ since November 2023, has so far drawn a blank of his pursuit of Jones in a hypothetical matchup billed as being potentially the biggest in UFC history, with Jones stating to the media last year that he favours so-called ‘legacy fights’ over the candidacy of the Englishman.
But while he says that both he and the UFC are doing all they can to make the fight happen, Aspinall has reiterated that his true desire is the championship and not necessarily Jones’ scalp — and that he will only fight for the full title in his next bout, be it against Jones or anyone else.
“Where we’re at right now is I have spoke to the UFC on multiple occasions about this fight,” he stated on his official YouTube channel.
“I’m chasing it. I want the fight. I’ve been on record and said that I want the fight. I’ve been on the phone with the UFC saying that I want the fight, when’s it happening? I want the fight more than anyone. What is holding it up right now is his side. That’s the truth of it.
“The UFC really, really want the fight to happen,” he added, via MMA Fighting. “They told me that. As I said, this is one of the biggest fights that can be made in MMA right now and everybody knows that. Everybody knows it. It’s just does [Jones] want to put himself in a position where he’s comfortable enough financially to take the risk that he’s taking to fight me. That is where we’re at.
“One thing that I want to be really clear on, I am only fighting for the undisputed title. That’s my only discrepancy. I will fight absolutely anyone. We can look through my record, you can speak to any promoter that I’ve ever worked with, UFC or otherwise, I have absolutely never turned down a fight in my life. Never turned down an opponent and I’m not going to start now.
“What we need to be clear on is that I have done enough in the UFC to fight for the undisputed title. I am the best heavyweight in the world and I just want a chance to prove it.”
Aspinall also reiterated a previous point that he could end Jones’ career without the two ever trading blows.
“Remember what I said quite a while ago now, I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him? That’s something that I said. Jon, let’s do it. If you want to do it, you don’t have to ask me twice. If not, I’ll fight somebody else for the undisputed belt. Happy to fight anybody, any time, anywhere, it doesn’t matter, I’m ready to go.”
