Jon Jones has told fans that he has ‘agreed’ with Tom Aspinall to wait for a UFC announcement on their future.
‘Bones’ has asserted that he and Aspinall are waiting on the UFC to reveal their plans as frustration grows in the MMA world over the pair’s anticipated heavyweight title bout.
Jones, 37, is the UFC heavyweight champion but has received relentless backlash regarding his attitude towards fighting Britain’s heavyweight star Aspinall.
In fact, a petition to strip Jones of his undisputed belt is nearing 180,000 signatures, with the champion continuing to stir the pot while on a trip to Thailand.
Jones hosted one of the biggest seminars of all time on Saturday in Phuket and allowed those in attendance to ask him questions after.
“When are you fighting Tom?” one fan asked, before Jones responded: “I was waiting for it…
“The UFC, I, and Tom we all have a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes.
“They’re one of the biggest organisations in sports. Right now, Tom and I have agreed to wait for the UFC to make their announcements, so I legally can’t really talk about it.”
Jones’ update sent shockwaves through the MMA world after mixed signals regarding his future in the last month.
It seems like Jones either confirmed that he is waiting for the UFC to announce the fight with Aspinall, or something else, such as him retiring or vacating the heavyweight belt.
“So it’s happening or not?” one user wrote on X in response to Jones’ comments.
Another said: “Please, somebody just announce it already. We beg of you.”
A third added: “Wait for the UFC to make the announcement… of his retirement!”
While a fourth replied: “Jon even ducked the question.”
Several other fans mentioned that they believe Jones vs Aspinall will take place at the UFC’s annual event in Madison Square Garden, New York, in November.
The UFC have hosted a card in the iconic arena every year – apart from 2020 – since 2016.
The Garden has witnessed legendary fights like Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez, Michael Bisping vs Georges St-Pierre, and Jorge Masvidal vs Nate Diaz.
It was also the last venue to witness the UFC heavyweight champion fight.
Jones defeated Stipe Miocic in The Garden at UFC 309 last November, stopping the veteran with a nasty spinning back kick in the third round.
That was Jones’ first defence of the title, having won the belt by submitting Ciryl Gane in the first round of his debut in the heavyweight division in March 2023.
During that time, Wigan’s Aspinall has become the UFC interim heavyweight champion.
That would usually lead to a fighter being awarded an undisputed title shot as soon as possible.
However, Aspinall became the longest-reigning interim champion in UFC history in April, nine months since he retained his status against Curtis Blaydes in Manchester in his last fight to date.
The 32-year-old heavyweight has been consistent with the fact that he is waiting for Jones to accept the fight, even suggesting that he doesn’t even care who his opponent is, as long as his next fight is for undisputed status.
“I can’t do anything,” Aspinall said last month, before stating what he believes is holding up his fight with Jones.
“I think it’s just down to money on his side, so I will fight whenever, wherever he wants, but it’s down to money I think.
“At this stage in his career – and he’s had an amazing career – I just think that at 37 years old… he’s got a million miles on the clock.
“He’s got a lot of damage on the body, took a lot of shots to the head, and that’s not me saying anything negative about that’s the reality of it.
“I’m sure Jon Jones is aware of that; when you put him in with – I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet – but I’m literally the most dangerous guy in the UFC if you look at the stats.”
Aspinall is correct in that assessment as he has the shortest average fight time in UFC history having finished seven of his eight victories in the promotion in the first round.
His only defeat in the promotion came 15 seconds into his first fight with Blaydes at UFC London in July 2022 when he suffered a torn MCL, torn meniscus and ACL damage after a leg kick.
