It’s been almost exactly two years since Jon Jones won the heavyweight title after beating Ciryl Gane. And it’s been 14 months since Tom Aspinall won the interim heavyweight title. In between, Aspinall even defended his interim title against Curtis Blaydes—all, while continuously calling out the heavyweight champion to unify the titles. Meanwhile, Jones defended against Stipe Miocic last November. So, have we made any progress since then? Well, nothing apart from speculation and promises. And it’s not like fans aren’t wary of Jon Jones’ not entertaining Tom Aspinall. Fans have been rallying behind the Englishman for the Jon Jones fight.
Jon Jones has not only been called out earlier for allegedly ‘ducking’ Tom Aspinall. In fact, the consensus “greatest of all time” was also slammed a few years ago for avoiding former champion Francis Ngannou when ‘Bones’ was on a three-year hiatus. But when it comes to the highly anticipated title unification clash against Aspinall, Jones wants “f*** you money,” and reports suggesting the amount to be $30 million—which Chael Sonnen admits seemed pretty farfetched. However, the legend from West Linn, Oregon, is putting all his money on the fact that when Dana White calls, ‘Bones’ won’t hesitate to get back inside the cage.
“While Jon began to publicly negotiate right after his fight with Stipe [Miocic], when Jon began to do that, it almost sounded unrealistic. $30 million, $50 million. Like, we’re just being silly at this point,” Chael Sonnen stated on his YouTube channel. “While it sounded that way, I have always maintained for you when the day comes—that the phone rings and there’s an actual venue booked and on date—Jon will say yes.
March 4, 2023, Las Vegas, NV, LAS VEGAS, NV, USA: LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 4: Jon Jones celebrates his victory over Ciryl Gane in their Heavyweight fight during the UFC 285 event at T-Mobile Arena on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Las Vegas, NV USA – ZUMAp175 20230304_zsa_p175_268 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
‘The American Gangster’ even questioned the people who believe Jon Jones is trying to avoid Tom Aspinall and has asked them to substantiate those claims. But Chael Sonnen claims that there is nothing to substantiate. “And we have no evidence to the contrary… There’s almost like a phenomenon in the sport of MMA that Jon Jones is holding up that fight with ridiculous negotiations. I’m just here to let you know we have no evidence of that,” he added.
Chael Sonnen is making the argument that Jon Jones has to do exactly what a person in his position should be doing—creating enough intrigue and hype, making his opponent earn his stripes, and ensuring that he’s handsomely rewarded for stepping up against a dangerous opponent. In fact, if there is anyone in the UFC currently who can do such a thing and “get away with it”, it’s Jones. Being a dominant champ with 16 years of history with the company comes with its perks.
Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall may have claimed that everything is done in terms of making the fight happen, but there are still certain things that are undone. So, let’s take a look at what is currently holding up the heavyweight title unification fight.
Jon Jones has agreed, but Tom Aspinall is waiting on a date
Alex Pereira‘s defeat to Magomed Ankalaev really hindered the Brazilian’s chances of fighting Jon Jones, who wanted that ‘legacy fight’. On that note, Tom Aspinall recently revealed that the possibility of that fight happening is slim. In fact, the Briton claimed that Dana White is not entertaining any other opponent than him for Jon Jones, and it appears that the undisputed champion has come to terms with the UFC head honcho, but is yet to put pen to paper.
But the only thing left to do is find the time and date for that heavyweight clash, and guess what? Fans may not need to wait much longer to get word from Dana White. “Off the table now, the Alex Pereira fight at heavyweight, or any other weight, really… Everything is now done on Jon’s side and the UFC now have to find a date and a venue, a place, location. So, we’re waiting for that. We’ve got some good news coming soon, hopefully,” said Tom Aspinall.
Well, 2025 seems to be an exciting year for UFC fans as we already have arguably the biggest fight of the year on our hands between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. It remains to be seen how soon it gets finalized as we wait for more details in the coming days. What do you think? Will we finally get that fight this year? Let us know in the comments down below.
The post UFC Insider Claims There’s No ‘Evidence’ of Jon Jones ‘Holding Up’ Tom Aspinall Fight – “Jon Will Say Yes” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
