When Georges St-Pierre declared he was taking a break after beating Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in 2013, he rubbed then-UFC President Dana White the wrong way. But ‘Rush’ had the decency to vacate his title before going on break. That is something the reigning UFC champion Jon Jones should do, according to many. Of course, he did that back in 2020 when he left the light heavyweight division. But ever since winning the heavyweight title, he’s been the epitome of inactivity, due to injury and due to negotiation tactics. This has left interim champion Tom Aspinall in a rut.
Tom Aspinall has been facing multiple sets of disappointment as Jon Jones seemingly keeps on stalling the fight against him. As of now, reports claim that the heavyweight champion has asked Dana White and Co. for a 180-day break. This has left Aspinall with the choice to defend his interim belt for the second time, or wait till ‘Bones’ returns from his sabbatical. And if he wishes to fight, Chael Sonnen says he’d have to face Ciryl Gane. But the UFC head honcho did claim that Aspinall vs. Jones is the fight that the UFC wants to make in 2025, keeping hope for the union of heavyweight belts alive. But now, Georges St-Pierre has come forth with some advice to help Aspinall move on with his career.
St-Pierre recently made an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, wherein the famed reporter let him know that he was Aspinall’s inspiration and favorite fighter. And that’s when Helwani asked the Canadian fighter for some advice for the Briton. And ‘Rush’ was visibly pleased with the words. After thanking Aspinall for the honor, he said, “I think Tommy needs to focus on the next task.” Of course, it wasn’t something that GSP hadn’t experienced before.
He recollected the time when he fought Matt Serra and lost. That followed his relentless pursuit of an immediate rematch. But in time, he realized that he needed to get to the other fights, which led him to Serra at UFC 83 and ultimately to KO him.
St-Pierre said, “If he’s only focusing on Jon Jones, and if Jon Jones does not come back right away, he’s not focusing on the right thing. He needs to focus on what is next, the next path, because the rest, it’s a distraction, you know. And things that need to be done will be done. And I don’t know what Jon will do. But, as a fan, I would love to see this fight.”
Needless to say, Jon Jones has already accomplished everything as far as his legacy is concerned. And Aspinall, being a proud fighter, wanted to defeat the best. Yet, St-Pierre remained adamant and said, “Tom should not focus on that, because it’s outside of his control. And he’s waiting a lot. He’s wasting a lot of energy focusing on that.”
GSP offers some advice to Tom Aspinall:
“I think Tom needs to focus on the next task. If he’s only focusing on if Jon Jones does not come back right away, he’s not focusing on the right thing. He needs to focus on the next path, because the rest, it’s a distraction..
Tom should… pic.twitter.com/g8Mg5k4naj
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 28, 2025
Georges St-Pierre further claimed that Aspinall had all the tools that he needed to become the greatest fighter. But for that, he needed to self-hypnotize and focus on the next big thing in his career. But the inactivity took a heavy toll on Aspinall and his team. Let’s hear the troubles from his father and coach, Andy Aspinall.
Tom Aspinall’s father expresses his worries about Jon Jones repeatedly evading the bout
In a YouTube video on Aspinall’s channel, Andy Aspinall weighed in on the inactivity that his son has fallen into. He said, “It’s just a massive pain in the a–, really. Tom is just staying fit, and we’re putting different things into his game and everybody’s game that comes, but it would be really nice – because he’s a fighter – to have a fight. He’s had three fights that have lasted a minute apiece – the last three fights. It is what it is, but we could do with more fights. It’s nice to train for somebody because otherwise, you just go to the gym every day and train. You like to go with a purpose.”
Well, fighting is how Aspinall makes his living. But even though he’s fit and healthy, he’s unable to fight Jones. As a coach, Andy Aspinall claimed that he wasn’t getting paid because the interim champ wasn’t getting paid. However, it wasn’t just about the monetary aspect. He wanted to portray the frustration that the British heavyweight had to go through just to get a fight against Jones.
In the end, Aspinall revealed that he was training twice a day, engaging in physiotherapy, stretching, and recovering. But he’s doing that to get ahead in the competition. And all that he and his team want is some good news. “We want some fight news. That’s what we’re after,” Aspinall said.
What do you think of St-Pierre’s advice for Aspinall? Do you think the interim heavyweight champion should wait and fight Jones for the championship belt, or move on ahead and fight anyone that the UFC wants him to? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post Georges St-Pierre Raises Issues Over Jon Jones’ UFC Return As Tom Aspinall Offered Major “Distraction” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
