Despite holding onto the interim heavyweight title and an impressive KO ratio, Tom Aspinall finds himself looking in from the outside. He will be watching a returning Jon Jones put his title on the line against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, with retirement looming for both fighters. Following the announcement of the fight, Aspinall has all but given up the hope of ever fighting “Bones.” But is there any chance of it happening?

It has been rumored that the UFC 309 might be the last time, we could see Jones and Miocic in the action regardless of the outcome. While White has said the Miocic will likely retire after the fight, the defending heavyweight champion has also said that the impending contest could be his last. Talking to ‘Clocked N’ Loaded’ after Noche UFC, Jones said, “It’s going to be the last time. More than likely.”

This would be a crushing blow to Aspinall’s hopes of fighting Jones, something he has been advocating for some time. However, Chael Sonnen, there is no question of Jones vs Aspinall not taking place. “The American Gangster remains convinced that we will get to see the match that the UFC fandom wants, materialize in the cage.

Chael Sonnen addressed the situation in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel on September 25. According to Sonnen, the fight at UFC 309 won’t be Jones’s last, irrespective of the result. “I don’t believe this is going to be Jon’s last fight. I don’t believe there’s a scenario that Jon Jones does not fight Tom Aspinall. I believe, if Jon beats Stipe, he draws right into Tom Aspinall and doesn’t flinch. But I know for sure, if Jon loses to Stipe, Jon is going to draw right into Tom Aspinall, and he’s not even going to flinch.”

Aspinall’s desire to fight Jones is well known. After retaining his interim heavyweight title in July following a first-round knockout of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, he challenged Jones to a unification bout. In his post-fight interview in the octagon, Aspinall said, “I’m the best finisher in the UFC, if I start to snowball you, you’re done. Who wants to see Tom Aspinall v Jon Jones?” Jones didn’t answer the challenge.

But in late August, he declared that his “legacy will be just fine” without a title unification fight against Aspinall. But Sonnen doesn’t believe that is the case. He mentioned, “But I know for sure, if Jon loses to Stipe, Jon is going to draw right into Tom Aspinall, and he’s not even going to flinch. In fact, it’s going to be Jon’s idea. I think there’s multiple reasons for that.”

Well, Jones’s legacy could be the reason he takes on Aspinall. Jon Jones has become somewhat of a mythical figure in the realm of UFC and can easily be considered the best ever, with a 27-1 record. His only defeat came as a result of disqualification for using illegal 12-to-6 elbows against Mark Hamill in 2009.

But shying away from a fight against someone constantly wanting to prove himself against him would be a questionable decision. So ‘Bones’ may give in to Aspinall’s demand.

Sonnen added, “But how you’re remembered in something you contributed so much to, you would like to be remembered. That’s reasonable. That’s human nature. And Jon, while he is super, maybe he is super at a skill compared to other human beings, he is still a human being. Mark my words, you will see Jon in the octagon with Tom Aspinall.” However, the British fighter didn’t sound too optimistic about his chances of taking on Jones.

Speaking on the Michael Bisping podcast on August 19, he said, “There is nowhere that you can find publicly, nowhere, him saying that he will fight me. It doesn’t exist. I challenge anybody watching this interview to go and find the statement, quote, a video where Jon Jones is saying that he’ll fight me after he’s fought Stipe. It doesn’t exist.”

“Let’s be honest, and since I won that fight, he’s gone completely quiet. He’ll continue to go completely quiet about me until he retires. Because there’s no way on Earth that he’s going to fight me. Not a chance. I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him,” he added.

The fight between Jones and Miocic was initially planned for UFC 295 but had to be postponed after “Bones” tore his pectoral muscle during training for the contest last October. He hasn’t competed in the octagon since defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023.

Aspinall’s skepticism around the fight may not be entirely misplaced. Apart from Jones himself saying the Miocic fight could be his last, his coach Brandon Gibson believes it could be the end of the road for the champion. “I do [believe it will be his last fight]. This is a dangerous game. It’s a dangerous game and it’s not one that treats an aging fighter kindly… Jon, more than any other fighter I believe, has earned and deserves to be able to pick and choose when he leaves,” Gibson said in an interview with From the Stands on September 24.

On the other hand, Sonnen’s optimism about the fight taking place isn’t out of order either. After all Dana White, himself said that Jones is up for the Aspinall challenge.

UFC CEO claims ‘Bones’ wants the dream fight

During a press conference for the Dana White Contender Series on August 20, the UFC CEO was asked about Jon Jones trying to skip the Aspinall fight by announcing his retirement. However, White truly disagreed with the claim. He claimed that while the media person might have an issue with Jon Jones, there was no way that the UFC heavyweight champion would chicken out of a fight against the Brit.

He said, “Dislike him; whatever your beef is with Jon Jones, knock yourself out. There’s no way in hell that Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight Aspinall. That I guarantee you.” White further added that the UFC would try its level best to make that fight happen. As he emphasized on the UFC’s history of booking big event fights, that might’ve felt like an impossible task to many.

White said, “We’ll do everything we can to make that fight happen. What fights don’t we make? Other than the Francis [Ngannou] thing, what fights don’t we make? You can’t make people fight, and we couldn’t make Francis fight. But every other fight we’ve made. We’ve dealt with guys like Brock Lesnar. Think of the biggest stars that have ever been in the sport. We’ve always made the fights.”

After the September 17 episode of the Contender Series, White once again addressed Jones’ retirement talk while confirming that Aspinall will be the backup fighter for the UFC 309 main event. In light of Jones and his coach’s comments, White said they will have to see how the situation develops after the November 16 card in Madison Square Garden. White mentioned, “You’ve got to figure out what’s going to happen in this fight. See how this fight plays out and then we’ll go from there.”

There remain a few ifs and buts, however, Sonnen is confident. The retirement talk around Jones could be a way to build more hype for his return against Miocic. If that’s the case, Aspinall may get his wish after all.