Tom Aspinall isn’t pulling his punches anymore. As the MMA sphere awaits an update about his first official title defense of the undisputed heavyweight crown, the British star has taken a hardline stance on a subject that continues to haunt combat sports, PEDs or performance-enhancing dr**.
So what sparked the fire? In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Aspinall laid out his views with chilling clarity. But before you assume he’s targeting Jon Jones, think again. “This is my view on PEDs personally,” he began, stressing that it wasn’t about one specific name. “If you’re a sprinter, for example, you do 100 meters and you take PEDs and you win a race, you become faster than people who are not taking PEDs, from that, that’s okay. You cheat, you’ve won. They’ll take your title off you or whatever. That’s fine.
But what if cheating can change someone’s life forever? That’s where Aspinall pointed out, “If your job is to hurt another person, which could potentially redirect the rest of their life post-fighting, you’re an absolute piece of s***, and you should never be able to fight again.”
For Aspinall, it’s not just unfair, it’s bordering on criminal. The 32-year-old even compared it to bringing a gun to a knife fight or even bringing a knife to a fight where your opponent is facing you with just his bare fists. He continued, “Like how can you look yourself in the mirror when you know that you’re cheating? And you could potentially damage the other person for life? Like it’s disgusting.”
This isn’t the first time the issue has stirred debate. Grappling sensation Gordon Ryan made headlines in late 2024 by defending the same issue that Tom Aspinall is vehemently against. How? According to the BJJ phenom, “The reason people watch professional sports is to see the absolute best athletes in the world do what they do. And when you take performance enhancers, it makes you a better athlete.”
His take sparked backlash, especially from UFC-exclusive grappler Mikey Musumeci, who blamed Ryan for normalizing ste**d use in the sport. It’s a slippery slope that’s been walked before, most notably by Jon Jones, whose legacy includes multiple failed dr** tests.
PEDs have always lurked in the shadows of MMA. But Tom Aspinall isn’t interested in whispering. He’s shining a spotlight on the issue and daring the sport to confront it. Now, with that battle being waged outside the cage, Aspinall is also closing the chapter on a fight that never happened, against Jon Jones.
Tom Aspinall clears his stance on Jon Jones’s retirement as he sets his sights on the future of his reign
The Englishman’s year-long campaign for clarity finally reached its end when UFC boss Dana White declared Jones officially retired. That one sentence gave Tom Aspinall the title he’d long earned but never officially held. Still, it came with a bittersweet twist.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Aspinall confessed, “I’ve said it a million times: I was never actually chasing Jon, I was chasing the heavyweight title.” The British star had hoped for the moment inside the cage, with the world watching and Jon Jones across from him. Instead, he inherited the crown with no opponent in front of him. Was it disappointing? Sure. But not personal.
He continued, “Don’t get me wrong, Jon Jones would have been an amazing scalp to have on my record, but the opponent standing across from me never mattered. It has never mattered, and it never will matter.” Jones, 37, chose to walk away instead of facing the new generation. And while fans might grumble over what could’ve been, Aspinall isn’t holding any grudges. In fact, he extended nothing but goodwill.
Aspinall shared, “I don’t know [Jones]. I don’t know him personally. I know he’s got his own struggles at the moment. Whatever he has going on in his life, I wish him the best of luck.”
Jones’ retirement comes amid another legal hiccup. It’s another addition to a long list of off-cage troubles. But for Aspinall, that’s all in the rearview now. With the belt finally his, Aspinall is focused on what lies ahead. The 32-year-old wants to fight twice before 2025 ends. Nothing is booked yet, but the plan is in motion.
In the end, Tom Aspinall may not have gotten the fight he wanted, but he’s stepping into the future with both fists raised. His stance on PEDs draws a clear line in the sand; cheating in a sport built on trust and violence isn’t just wrong, it’s unforgivable. And while the shadow of Jon Jones will always linger over what might have been, Aspinall refuses to dwell in it.
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