Jon Jones dismisses Tom Aspinall ‘as threat’

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones on Friday dismissed Tom Aspinall ‘as a threat’ saying he should stop chasing elusive unification bout and focus on ‘to be the best heavyweight of all time’.

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, but the final date of the bout is still a mystery.

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

Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion, after waiting for quite some time appears to have moved on from Jones' fight and is now looking for his next fight. 

Jones sent fans into hysteria recently when he told the fans that ‘Tom and I agreed to wait for the UFC,’ during a seminar in Thailand.   

Despite Jones' statement, Aspinall publicly said that the former is ‘retired’ and revealed he has a date for the next fight.

Meanwhile, Jones has responded through a social media post on X formerly Twitter saying Tom is ‘no threat’ to him and should focus on trying to become the best heavyweight.

“No, honestly, I wish Tommy no ill will. He is no threat to me whatsoever, he should start with just trying to be the best heavyweight of all time, that goal would be plenty,” Jones wrote.

“My career is on a completely different planet if we’re being honest. I really don’t hate on other fighters, i’m usually just responding to their envy,” Jones added.

Jones also opened up about his relationship with the UFC, saying it is in the organization’s best interest to present him as the champion.

“I spoke to the UFC a long time ago about what my future plans were. I haven’t really worked out since my last fight in New York City. Honestly, I believe it’s been in the UFC’s best interest to keep presenting me as the company’s champion—not Tom,” Jones said.

“I’ve just been playing the role of the company man by doing nothing at all… and holding the position. And truthfully, it’s been incredibly lucrative. I’ve made more money off of Tom being the interim champ than Tom has himself,” he concluded.