In his much-awaited Octagon return, Tom Aspinall made a thunderous comeback with a first-round finish of Marcin Tybura. This was his first fight ever since he lost to Curtis Blaydes last year. For those unaware, his last loss was a doctor stoppage due to a sickening knee injury that the fighter sustained during his UFC Fight Night 208 clash.
Interestingly, both of these bouts took place at London’s famous O2 Arena. Without a doubt, the London crowd was cheering for their own, and the Manchester native didn’t disappoint. But ‘Two Beers’ didn’t just stop there and went on to call out Jon Jones during his post-fight interview. This challenge was soon accepted by the champion in one of his recent tweets. But it seems like some people are taking Jones’s response as more than just a nod.
Tom Aspinall opens up on Jon Jones’s response
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In his recent appearance at Ariel Helwani‘s The MMA Hour, Tom Aspinall opened up on Jon Jones’s response to his callout. According to the Englishman, he felt patronized by the GOAT’s response, especially since ‘Bones’ added a ‘LOL’ in his tweet.
This is surprising, considering that earlier, the Heavyweight had expressed his delight after the widely regarded GOAT had responded to his challenge. But at the same time, Aspinall also referred to this proposed bout as his dream, and he would do anything to get it. The statement was an answer to Helwani’s question, intended to inquire about the fighter’s thoughts on the matter.
It is interesting to note that the journalist, too, didn’t ‘love the LOL’ in Jones’s response. To this, Aspinall responded: “I think he kind of patronized me. How dare he patronize me? Uh, yeah, yeah, I don’t know, whatever, whatever, but that’s the fact. That’s my dream fight, so I’ll do whatever I can to get that.”
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A fight with Jon Jones can be a legacy-defining moment
In a decade and a half-long career, Jon Jones has established himself as arguably the greatest athlete to enter the octagon. Within his time with the UFC, the former light-heavyweight champion has claimed numerous feats to his name. This includes becoming the youngest champion in the promotion’s history, the most title defenses, as well as the most wins over former UFC champions.
Adding to his list of these achievements, he is now also one of the eight fighters to hold UFC gold in two different weight classes. Considering all these achievements, a win over him can be a legacy-defining moment for any fighter, and Tom Aspinall knows it. As of now, Jon Jones is scheduled to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 later this year.
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According to many, after Miocic, it’s Sergei Pavlovich who should be the one to face Jon Jones. The Russian is currently on a terror run of his own, with six straight first-round finishes. With that in mind, it would be interesting to see if Aspinall would have his dream fight or not.
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