‘Tom Aspinall and I agreed to wait for the UFC,’ says Jon Jones

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones clarified that he and Tom Aspinall are waiting for the UFC to decide on their potential fight.

The highly anticipated bout between Aspinall and Jones has been in talks for quite some time, and Dana White, the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has validated it after claiming that it will occur this year.

Jones, who won the vacant heavyweight title by submitting Ciryl Gane in the first round at UFC 285 in March 2023, has only defended the belt once—against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November 2024.

Meanwhile, Aspinall won the interim title by stopping Sergei Pavlovich, when Jones was injured and then successfully defended it in July 2024. 

Currently, Jones is in Thailand filming a reality TV show in the style of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC heavyweight champion led a seminar this past weekend where he was asked about the date of the fight against Aspinall, to which he responded, ‘Tom and I agreed to wait for the UFC.'

“The UFC, I and Tom, we all got a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes,” Jones told attendees at his seminar. 

“They’re one of the biggest organizations in sports and right now Tom and I have agreed to wait for the UFC to make their announcements. So I legally can’t really talk about it,” he added.

Since winning the belt, however, Jones’ lack of activity has stirred frustration among fans and raised questions about whether he will face Aspinall before considering retirement or other options.