Tom Aspinall blames Jon Jones for continued delays booking fight, willing to move on under one condition

Tom Aspinall would love to get some answers on his next fight just like everybody else.

While he continues playing the waiting game with hopes that he’ll get the chance to face Jon Jones in a heavyweight title unification bout, the 31-year-old interim champion is exhausted with the constant questions about that matchup because at this point, it’s all out of his control. So Aspinall offered a detailed update that puts the target directly on Jones to decide whether or not he plans to accept the fight.

“There’s a lot of people out there who know me mainly for talking about Jon Jones, which is a shame, because there’s a lot of stuff I’ve done in the UFC and I’m completely aware of that,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “I’ve been staying away from the media and talking about Jon Jones a lot because in all honesty, I’m sick of talking about it myself. But there needs to be updates. I see a lot of articles online saying a load of different things that are just not true. It’s just not true.

“Where we’re at right now is I have spoke to the UFC on multiple occasions about this fight. I’m chasing it. I want the fight. I’ve been on record and said that I want the fight. I’ve been on the phone with the UFC saying that I want the fight, when’s it happening? I want the fight more than anyone. What is holding it up right now is his side. That’s the truth of it.”

Jones last fought this past November when he dispatched former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in what served as his retirement fight from the sport. Afterwards, Jones teased potential options for his future, which also included a possible matchup against current UFC light heavyweight king Alex Pereira, who has been torching his opposition at 205 pounds lately.

Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White has gone as far as guaranteeing he would eventually strike a deal to make Aspinall vs. Jones in 2025 but he hasn’t given any specifics as far as a date or location for that matchup.

Aspinall promises he’s accepted the fight and told the UFC he’s happy with any date or location so long as the undisputed title is going up for grabs.

“The UFC really, really want the fight to happen,” Aspinall said. “They told me that. As I said, this is one of the biggest fights that can be made in MMA right now and everybody knows that. Everybody knows it. It’s just does he want to put himself in a position where he’s comfortable enough financially to take the risk that he’s taking to fight me. That is where we’re at.

“As far as I’m aware, this is totally down to Jon Jones and his team to work that out. Because I’m in. The UFC are in. They assure me that they desperately want to make the fight every time I speak to them. They said ‘we are working as hard as we can on the fight.’ I’m literally just waiting for a date.”

Adding a new wrinkle to the saga, Aspinall said that if Jones doesn’t want to face him or just decides he’s not interested in defending his heavyweight title any longer, that’s OK, too.

More than anything, Aspinall just wants the opportunity to become undisputed UFC champion so if that road travels through Jones or another contender like Ciryl Gane or Jailton Almeida, then he’s ready to sign the contract tomorrow.

“I’m not bothered who it’s against, to be honest, it’s not just the Jon Jones fight I’m looking for,” Aspinall explained. “I’m looking to fight. I’m in shape. I’ve been working hard since way before Christmas. I’ve been in the gym twice a day. My diet’s good. I’ve been sparring. I’ve got international training partners here. I am prepared to fight anybody. But what’s holding it back is the UFC wants to make the fight with me and Jon. As far as I’m aware, it’s now about maybe financial, otherwise, I’m not too sure to be honest. I’m just waiting for the call right now. I’m 100 percent ready to go.

“One thing that I want to be really clear on, I am only fighting for the undisputed title. That’s my only discrepancy. I will fight absolutely anyone. We can look through my record, you can speak to any promoter that I’ve ever worked with, UFC or otherwise, I have absolutely never turned down a fight in my life. Never turned down an opponent and I’m not going to start now. What we need to be clear on is that I have done enough in the UFC to fight for the undisputed title. I am the best heavyweight in the world and I just want a chance to prove it.”

Despite his willingness to compete sooner rather than later, Aspinall knows that the UFC ultimately wants to make the fight with Jones because that’s the matchup that not only makes the most sense but it’s also undoubtedly a very lucrative fight for the company.

Considering he’s already laid waste to the vast majority of top 10 ranked heavyweights, Aspinall acknowledges that his options are somewhat limited but he’s not the one putting up a roadblock right now to prevent the division from moving forward.

“I’m not here to turn anyone down,” Aspinall said. “I’m not here to be a diva. I’m not here to get more money. I’m here to be exciting, to do what I love and to go out there and finish guys and that is absolutely what I want to do but right now it is not me holding up this division. Let’s get it moving.

“Right now it’s being held up and it’s not being held up by me. I want to fight. I need to fight for the undisputed heavyweight title because most of these other top 10 heavyweights I’ve beaten in the first round. Anybody else who I’ve not beat, I’m willing to jump in there and take them out as well.”

There’s no telling at this point how long negotiations could drag out before the UFC would consider other options, which is why Aspinall really hopes Jones makes a decision soon — at least so he can know what he’s doing for the rest of 2025.

“Remember what I said quite a while ago now, I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him?” Aspinall recounted. “That’s something that I said.

“Jon, let’s do it. If you want to do it, you don’t have to ask me twice. If not, I’ll fight somebody else for the undisputed belt. Happy to fight anybody, any time, anywhere, it doesn’t matter, I’m ready to go.”