Tom Aspinall is focusing on his own legacy ahead of UFC 304 title defense: “I don’t need Jon Jones”
While UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall wants to fight Jon Jones, he doesn’t need to.
The British fighter is just a month away from defending his gold on home soil. Just a few months removed from his knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim title, Tom Aspinall will meet Curtis Blaydes. ‘Razor’ is coming off a second-round knockout victory over Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 in March.
The interim title bout will take place just a few months before the eventual return of Jon Jones. ‘Bones’ is the current UFC heavyweight champion, but hasn’t competed since winning the title last March. Jones was set to face Stipe Miocic last fall, but due to an injury, the bout was scrapped. In his absence, Tom Aspinall won the interim title.
While there’s been a lot of talk about a fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, there’s no guarantee it will happen. In fact, it seems more likely that the unification won’t happen. ‘Bones’ has been very open about the fact that he could retire with a win over Stipe Miocic later this year. Although, that hasn’t stopped him from taking many shots at Aspinall.
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Tom Aspinall discusses Jon Jones unification bout ahead of UFC 304 co-main event
In the event that Tom Aspinall doesn’t get to fight Jon Jones one day, that’s fine with him. Speaking in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, the interim champion discussed the possible unification bout. There, Aspinall stated that ‘Bones’ or not, he’s going to build an incredible legacy for himself.
“I mean, I’d like [the fight] obviously.” Tom Aspinall stated in the interview when asked about Jon Jones. “I’ve been rallying for it for a long time now. I’ve not got the fight, and I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen but, I’m not really bothered. I am here to create my own legacy, and I’m trying to be great myself.”
He continued, “But, I don’t need Jon Jones to do that. If I could get that, fantastic, I really think I could beat him. But, I’m not focused on that right now, to be honest. I’m just thinking about Curtis Blaydes [right now] and that’s it.”
What do you make of these comments from the UFC interim heavyweight champion? Do you believe Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall will ever happen?
