Tom Aspinall Addresses Fans to Give Status Report on Massive Unification Bout
UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall is weary. He’s tired of relentlessly pursuing Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones to no avail. Aspinall has been vocal in seeking a unification match for well over a year now. As most fans know, negotiations are ongoing, but seem to be at a bit of a stalemate. Frankly, Aspinall is also tired of our constant questions about the fight. He isn’t alone in this, as Jones made clear his annoyance at the Aspinall narrative overshadowing his last fight against former champion Stipe Miocic. He even declined a scheduled interview because he felt it was going to consist of questions about the Interim Champion.
The whole situation has dragged on interminably, and after months of steady provocation jostling for his rightful shot at undisputed gold, Tom Aspinall has been relatively silent in recent months. Recently, he posted to his YouTube channel, breaking that silence to speak directly to fans and media and tell them the truth of the situation.
Aspinall’s Thoughts on Negotiations
Per the video from Tom Aspinall, the status of the fight is much the same as it has been for the past few months since Jon Jones defended his belt against Miocic. Here are some quotes from his video that summarize the British sensation’s feelings:
“I’m absolutely sick of getting hounded with Jon Jones questions.”
“A lot of people feel like Jon is putting my career on hold. Which he is, to a degree. There’s nothing I can do about it, I want to fight.”
“They [UFC] assure me that they desperately want to make the fight…If the UFC says something, it’s my job to believe them.”
“As far as I’m aware it’s now about, maybe financial [issues] or otherwise, I’m not too sure. I’m just waiting for the call right now, I’m 100% ready to go.”
“It is not me holding up this division, let’s get it moving. You can’t have one division [with two champions] running simultaneously next to each other. That’s not what the UFC is. The UFC is about one guy being the champion of each division. I think it’s me, Jon thinks it’s him.”
“It’s one of the biggest fights that can be made in MMA at the moment. All we can do is wait. When the time comes, it’s going to be something special.”
Tom Aspinall’s Backup Plan
According to Tom Aspinall, the fight with Jon Jones is very much in stasis, as UFC continues to try to find palatable terms for Jones and his team. The Interim Champ is still hopeful that it can be actualized soon. However, he is open to taking whatever fight the UFC offers him. Regardless of the opponent, though, Aspinall is very clear on refusing to defend his interim belt again. Whoever his next opponent is, they will be fighting for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship; with or without Jones.
“I defended the interim title once, because I wanted to prove I’m better than Curtis Blaydes. It was unfinished business. And I wanted to fight in a sold out arena in my hometown [of Manchester]. I’m not doing it again.”
He then speculated on a short list of possible opponents, should Jon Jones refuse the UFC’s terms and opt to relinquish his belt:
“The only guys I haven’t fought in the top 10 are Jon Jones, Ciryl Gane, and [Jailton] Almeida. And the other guys, I beat in the first round.”
“I’ve yet to fight Ciryl Gane, been trying to fight him for 3 years. He’s on my list, if it’s for the undisputed title I’ll take him out. I’m desperate for that fight. Haven’t fought Almeida, hopefully coming. I’ll fight him in a heartbeat if the UFC want to do it for the undisputed title.”
The Best is Yet to Come
We may not be any closer to seeing Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones square off for their massive Heavyweight Championship unification, despite repeated assurances from Dana White. However, Aspinall is eager to get back into the octagon regardless of his opponent. As the months drag on, we can expect him to apply pressure on the UFC to let him move forward, whether against Jones, Gane, Almeida, or another contender. The Interim Champion isn’t letting himself grow stagnant with the long wait. He assures us that he’s training rigorously, and whenever we see him again, we’ll be seeing the best version of Aspinall yet.
“I’m using this time really productively. Me now compared to me in my last fight, I’ve improved massively. I can’t wait to show you guys.”
He can’t wait to show us, and we can’t wait to see it. Hopefully we will see those improvements showcased against the best to ever do it; but regardless of the means of conveyance, it’s high time the Heavyweight division moved forward.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
