“I’m done talking about it, mate. Honestly, I’m over it. We’ll see what happens, yeah? We’ll just see,” a frustrated Tom Aspinall said who has now held the interim heavyweight title for over 500 days. In a statement to ‘JNMEDIA,’ he clearly stated he was finished discussing his potential fight against reigning heavyweight champion Jon Jones, whom many believe is “ducking” the Brit. However, despite his vow to stop talking about it, the Englishman still found a way to make a statement when he attended UFC London at the O2 Arena last week.

During the broadcast, he refrained from mentioning ‘Bones’ directly. However, when the camera panned to him, Aspinall quickly grabbed the attention of fans in the arena and those watching live by pulling out a rubber duck, signaling an indirect jab at Jones. Consequently, the move sparked a wave of reactions across the MMA community, with opinions split between those who saw it as “disrespectful” and others who found it a “wholesome” moment. Meanwhile, UFC fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen, who falls into the latter camp, recently shared his thoughts on the move through an Instagram reel.

He referred to it as a “15-cent” move while seated in a $5,000 chair highlighting how the Englishman could afford the expensive cage-side seat during UFC’s 16 outing in London but chose to go with an extremely humble and cheap stage piece to get his point across. Sonnen remarked, “Tom showed up at a UFC event and pulled out a rubber duck, symbolizing Jon Jones ducking him. This guy is rich and famous—he could have splurged on a high-end duck, but instead, he pulls out one like you’d get in a Happy Meal, probably worth around 15 cents. He’s sitting in a $5,000 seat but chose a 15-cent duck. That was great stuff!”

Aspinall made his MMA breakthrough in 2014 at just 20 years old, competing in the European circuits before climbing up to larger promotions. Since joining the UFC in 2020, Aspinall has become one of the most promising heavyweights, with an estimated net worth of around $3.18 million, according to MMA Salaries. He has already defeated some of the toughest heavyweights in the world, including Curtis Blaydes, Sergei Pavlovich, and Alexander Volkov.

Yet, his much-anticipated title unification fight with Jon Jones has been delayed again. Earlier this month, Ariel Helwani announced that Jones has asked for an additional six-month period to get ready for Aspinall if and when the fight gets official. Despite the delay, a recent meeting with UFC officials has reignited a sense of optimism for the Englishman. Let’s take a closer look!

Tom Aspinall shared details of his meeting with UFC executives

“Stay tuned,” interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall wrote in his Instagram story, sharing a picture with UFC executive Hunter Campbell, a key figure in MMA often seen alongside Dana White. Since posting the quote, MMA fans and analysts have been eagerly anticipating the Englishman’s announcement about his potential fight with Jon Jones.

During a conversation with Ariel Helwani on the podcast this week, the Brit revealed the details of the meeting: “I can’t speak for how he is with other people, but with me and my team, he’s been nothing but hospitable and fantastic. We had a great meeting. Everything went incredibly well, and now I understand my position and what the company is doing. You’ll just have to stay tuned, my friend. There’s some big news coming.”

Now, let’s talk about Aspinall’s rubber duck move at UFC London. Do you think it was a classic playful jab aimed at Jon Jones, who’s been accused of “ducking” the Englishman for a long time? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!