Tom Aspinall has expressed his frustration with the inactivity caused by Jon Jones on several occasions. He even had to defend his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes. And rumors claimed that Aspinall would have to defend the belt once again, since Jones supposedly wanted a 180-day break. Needless to say, the entire fighting community has stood against the heavyweight champion for holding up the division. And now, as Aspinall shared his final stance against ‘Bones,’ fans felt a sliver of hope moving the division forward.
It’s true that Jones has already achieved almost everything that a mixed martial artist can dream of. He became one of the youngest fighters to wear the UFC championship belt. On top of that, he has lost only one controversial fight in his entire MMA record. But refusing to fight Aspinall has seemingly put his legacy under scrutiny. So, does this mean he has already made up his mind to retire? Well, Aspinall certainly thinks so.
During a recent conversation with TNT Sports, the interim heavyweight champion said, “I think it’s pretty clear to see Jon Jones is retired. He does not want to fight me. So, we wish Jon all the best in the future, of course, but we want this heavyweight division active. We want to give these contenders a chance to fight. We want to have a defending champion, don’t we? Why is this division so stagnant all the time? Let’s make the heavyweight division great again.”
This meant the Britisher can now climb up to the championship throne and keep the division with about 30 fighters in constant motion. Aspinall continued, “Let’s have an active, defending UFC Heavyweight Champion and let’s move on. So, I’m ready to fight. I want to get two fights in before the end of the year. That’s what we’re doing. So, we’ll finally have some movement. Jon’s had a great career. I respect him. We know what he’s done. Jon told us 50 million times he’s the greatest of all time. Alright, have a good life. He’s living his best life out there, and we move on.”
Soon, Verdict MMA took to Instagram and shared these words on their social media profile. Without wasting much time, the fighting community swooped down to the comments section and revealed their thoughts. Let’s see what they had to say, shall we?
Fight fans have only one emotion for Tom Aspinall moving on from Jon Jones
Most of the fans believed that it was the best possible move for the heavyweight division. After all, an active champion is an absolute necessity for every single division. One of the fans claimed, “Im glad we can have an active heavyweight champ thats willing to fight anyone cuz we are tired of jon holding the belt hostage.” Another fan kept his doubts open, thinking that it could be a bait. The comment read, “This is the move, I just hope it isn’t bait and that he actually does move on and fight other people.” Meanwhile, another fan wrote, “Tom finally figured out how to take control of this situation instead of whining and crying nonstop. Aboot time!”
The UFC head honcho has referred to the potential matchup between Jones and Aspinall as “the biggest fight in heavyweight history,” but the 37-year-old has been noncommittal and has shown a declining interest in fighting Aspinall. Other than White expressing some optimism over the bout, there has been no official announcement by the promotion as well. Further, the 32-year-old has even gone on to say that his next move should be announced “soon,” with respect to UFC.
Many others stood in support of the Brit. One of the fans commented, “Just get Tom a fight he’s too good to be on the shelf for a year nearly now.” And some of the fans offered the option of Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane. One fan wrote, “I will be happy with Aspinal vs Gane .” Another fan commented, “Aspinall vs Gane for his 2nd undisputed title defense.”
But the fighting community’s stance regarding Jones was crystal clear. They absolutely hated the inactivity that ‘Bones’ has pulled the division into. A fan weighed in on this and commented, “The sport is better without Jones, He won’t be missed.” And in the meantime, a couple of fans wished for Aspinall to break some of Jones’ records. One of the comments read, “I hope Tom smashes Jon’s record for longest heavyweight reign.”
Who do you think Aspinall will fight if it’s not going to be Jones? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post Tom Aspinall Receives MMA Community’s Backing to Move On as Jon Jones Holds UFC Belt “Hostage” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
