UFC Insider Reveals Backup Plan if Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall Doesn't Happen

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UFC analyst and former UFC fighter Din Thomas has claimed that interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall could fight Ciryl Gane if negotiations between Aspinall and heavyweight champ Jon Jones continues to stall.

Jones hasn’t shown much interest publicly in a showdown with Aspinall, despite the fact that the entire MMA world wants to see the actual heavyweight title holder defend against the interim champ. 

UFC welterweight veteran Colby Covington has publicly suggested that Jones is asking for a large payday to accept the fight, while Aspinall himself believes Jones may be hesitant due to doubts about how he matches up with the Brit’s skill set.

Jon Jones Makes Final Fight Hint

UFC heavyweight champion Jones has remained relatively silent about his future in the sport, but a recent cryptic Instagram post has sparked speculation among MMA fans. At 37, the legendary fighter appeared to hint that a potential bout with interim champion Tom Aspinall could be the final chapter in his illustrious career.

Jones entered the UFC in 2008 as a lean 21-year-old with raw talent and massive potential. Few could have foreseen the historic run he would go on. By age 23, he became the youngest champion in UFC history, defeating legends such as Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, and Daniel Cormier along the way. While his performances inside the octagon were often breathtaking, his career outside of it was marred by controversy.

After a few years out of the cage, the arguably greatest of all time, Jones eventually made the switch to heavyweight where he became a two-weight world champion after easily submitting Ciryl Gane for the vacant title in 2023.

He would eventually record his first defence of the title in November 2024 against the consensus greatest heavyweight in UFC history Stipe Miocic, winning via a spinning back kick to the body in the third round.

Tom Aspinall’s Plans if Jones Fight Can’t be Agreed

According to Din Thomas, who works for the UFC as an analyst, the company may have convinced Tom Aspinall into defending his interim title for the second time against the number two ranked heavyweight in the UFC.

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"I think they convinced Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane. Jon wants to collect as much information on Tom Aspinall as possible. We haven’t really seen him in a lot of tough spots, we don’t know how he’s going to respond to that. Jon wants to see a couple more fights to get more information before saying yes to the Tom Aspinall fight,” Thomas said.

Of course, Aspinall previously defended his interim title against Curtis Blaydes in his hometown of Manchester, England back at UFC 304, where the Englishman blitzed Blaydes inside the first minute of round one. This quick-fire victory helped Aspinall maintain his excellent record in the UFC – he holds the record for the shortest average fight time in UFC history (2:02).

Will Jon Jones Continue to Avoid Tom Aspinall?

Whatever your thoughts are on Jones, this heavyweight dilemma does not look good on the American’s part. The champion continues to dodge Aspinall and instead would prefer to fight former UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

While the idea of a superstar showdown between Jones and Pereira seems fun, it is a complete mismatch due to the heavyweight champion’s superior grappling and wrestling ability, which is similar to Jones vs Gane back in 2023.

Fans are quite rightly begging for Jones vs Aspinall to happen as Aspinall, on paper, would be by far one of the toughest tests of Jones’ career to date.

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