It’s fair to say that Jon Jones has a slightly different view of the summit of the UFC’s heavyweight division compared to that of its interim champion, Tom Aspinall.
Aspinall, who won his first UFC title last month in Madison Square Garden in a stunning 69-second knockout win against Sergei Pavlovich: a hastily-arranged bout made necessary after Jones was forced to withdraw from a planned heavyweight title defence against Stipe Miocic after suffering a pectoral injury expected to sideline him for at least eight months.
Following his title win, Aspinall has stated his case in recent media interviews that his title should be upgraded to the real thing it will have been well over a year since his most recent bout against Ciryl Gane in March 2023.
Jones, though, doesn’t quite see it the same way.
I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now. During camp for a title defense I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career. Now I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped. Zero wins over…
— BONY (@JonnyBones) December 4, 2023
“I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now,” Jones wrote on social media. “During camp for a title defense, I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career. Now, I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped.
“Zero wins over legends, zero title defenses, and already thinking you can call the shots to Dana, that’s hilarious.”
Jones, who remains undefeated outside of a controversial DQ loss to Matt Hamill well over a decade ago, added that he has seen many pretenders to his throne come and go throughout his career.
“In my 15 year career I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing,” Jones wrote. “There’s ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that.”
And despite Aspinall’s plea, it doesn’t appear that Dana White has changed his plans to hold a Jones vs. Miocic title fight next year given comments made to the media recently, suggesting that Aspinall may next defend his interim heavyweight crown whenever he steps in the Octagon again.
