The MMA realm went into a brief moment of dismay after rumors of the much-awaited Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall heavyweight title unification bout getting canceled began circling the internet. The talk of the town was that ‘Bones’ asking for a 180-day break reportedly put Aspinall against Ciryl Gane for a second interim title defense. Thankfully, Dana White put these rumors to an end with the claim that Jones vs. Aspinall is the fight to make. But as the fighting community continued with the speculations, things began to seem a bit shaky for the British interim heavyweight champion.
Well, the Briton recently had a brief interaction with the middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis. During their exchange, the duo engaged in a friendly grapple. But that was the moment when Aspinall realized how strong ‘Stillknocks’ actually was, even though they belonged to separate weight categories. Unable to rise clear of Du Plessis, Aspinall remarked, “Oh no, this guy is too strong for me. Too strong.”
Needless to say, the visuals were pretty quick to enter the social media platforms. Home of Fight Picks took to X and shared the video with fight fans. In the caption, the X account wrote, “Tom Aspinall tries to wrestle but then realizes DDP is not an easy target . Look at how big Dricus Du Plessis is.” If we look at the visuals, we can be certain that Du Plessis is indeed a force to be reckoned with. But does that mean Aspinall is going to have quite a bit of trouble against Jones?
Well, it’s still too early to decide. We all saw how Jones ragdolled UFC heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic in his last outing. The much younger and in-prime Aspinall will not be as easy. Plus, Aspinall is a BJJ black belt in his own right. He’s won the British Open in BJJ in all belt classes except black belt. But not to worry, he has earned a much higher accolade.
Islam Makhachev, the UFC lightweight champion and the designated ‘black belt killer’ approves of Aspinall’s black belt. In a candid conversation, Makhachev called out UFC stars who did not deserve their BJJ black belts. Aspinall was among the few he approved. That should tell you how good the Brit is. But the fans looked at this 12-second clip and saw a whole different story.
Tom Aspinall tries to wrestle but then realizes DDP is not an easy target
Look at how big Dricus Du Plessis is. pic.twitter.com/MCqvwhqAlm
— Home Of Fight Picks (@theHOFPicks) April 29, 2025
Not too long ago, Aspinall and his father bashed ‘Bones’ for the inactivity. Andy Aspinall believed that his son could defeat the champ. But fight fans had a different opinion. As soon as Home of Fight Picks shared the visuals on X, the world of mixed martial arts took to the comments section. But the major concern that dominated everything else was Aspinall’s seemingly weak grappling. Let’s see what the fans had to say.
Tom Aspinall has fans worried about Jon Jones as he faces trouble against Dricus Du Plessis
Even though the date for the fight to unify the heavyweight belts is yet to be announced, it’s something that Dana White wasn’t going to let go of. And when that happens, the interim heavyweight champion might face a lot of trouble. The reason? It was because he looked like he had trouble with Du Plessis in grappling. One of the fans weighed in on this and wrote, “Tom Aspinall is FOOD for Jon Jones.” Another fan pointed out that the heavyweight champion’s grappling skills were seemingly far superior to what Aspinall displayed. This made him believe that there was no way Apsinall could win.. The fan wrote, “Jones will ragdoll Tom it’s over.” One more commented, “imagine what jones would do to this clown.”
Meanwhile, some of the fans seemed to know that Aspinall wasn’t really serious about grappling Du Plessis. According to them, Aspinall’s act was simply a bait for the heavyweight champion. One of the fans claimed, “Look at Tom trying to bait Jon Jones.” On top of that, some of the fans were able to take note that Aspinall was actually pulling back with his power. One of the fans wrote, “Tom has double under hooks, and let’s go out of respect.” Another fan commented, “Tom would maul him tho he’s just being nice.”
But what about DDP? Well, Du Plessis is currently set to land against Khamzat Chimaev and defend his middleweight championship title against him. The praise for ‘Borz’ was quite high. But after watching Apsinall having trouble against the South African champion, their doubts seemingly dissolved. One of the fans claimed, “Im done doubting ddp, ive doubted him every fight n he continues to prove me wrong. Lets go DDP.” Another fan pointed out, “Now we’re finishing Khamzat inside round 4 inshallah.”
What are your thoughts on the matchup between Aspinall and Jones? Who do you think would win in the superfight? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post Tom Aspinall Put to Shame as Dricus Du Plessus Inadvertently Kills Jon Jones Title Fight for UFC Fans appeared first on EssentiallySports.
