Tom Aspinall has made no secret of wanting a fight with Jon Jones. The interim heavyweight champion openly called out Jones after retaining the title in July at UFC 304 and has since admitted that he instigates Jones to “test his ego” so that he gets in the octagon with him. However, his hopes were dealt a major blow when it was announced that Jones would defend his title against a returning Stipe Miocic in November. Aspinall was left waiting, but that hasn’t stopped him from carrying on the rivalry with Jones.

Aspinall’s chances to face Jon Jones appear to be dwindling with each passing day. “Bones” has hinted that the title bout against Miocic at UFC 309 could be his swan song. Although the Brit has seemingly given up on the chance to fight Jones, he continues to provoke the heavyweight champion.

31-year-old Tom Aspinall has been named as the backup fighter for the Jones vs Miocic clash in Madison Square Garden. It has been rumored that the fight could be the last for both the fighters. Still, The Brit will have the opportunity to fight for the title next, should the winner continue fighting, according to UFC CEO Dana White.

However, talking to ‘Clocked N’ Loaded’ after UFC 306, Jones said, “It’s going to be the last time. More than likely,” when talking about his fight against Miocic. So when Aspinall sat down for a chat on The Ariel Helwani Show’, the host brought up these comments and asked him whether Jones was being serious or just riling up Aspinall.

The fighter answered, “I have no idea. The guy seems a little bit weird to me.” Helwani questioned why he thinks Jones is weird and the British fighter went a little further saying, “Because we’re talking about Jon, I think it’s pretty obvious. There’s been some stuff that he’s done over the years that isn’t normal behavior.”

Aspinall stated this concerning the barrage of troubles Jones has been in over the years. Let it be his PED failures and the subsequent suspensions by USADA or his regular tussle with the law on multiple occasions. Jones’s Hall of Fame-worthy octagon career has been marred by controversies and personal setbacks outside of it.

Helwani then brought up Jones’s comment under one IG post, where Aspinall called him out for “fight dodging.” In a now-deleted comment, Jones went on an NSFW tirade writing, “This dude literally has my large black c*** in his mouth every week. I’m flattered. I absolutely guarantee he will not win more world championships than me. That’s truly all that matters at the end of the day. There’s been many champions, no one like me. I sleep good at night.”

Aspinall answered that he had seen the comment and added, “I don’t wanna win as many championships as him. I just want to be the Undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, that’s all. Don’t care (about breaking his record) I want to make as much money as I can in the shortest amount of time possible.”

While in his previous comments about Jones, Aspinall got straight to business and talked about matters inside the octagon, his comments on the Ariel Helwani Show indicate him going a little personal. These comments though do align with what Aspinall told TNT Sports on September 10.

“I think Jon’s getting a bit ticked off with me at the minute, which is my intention. I’m trying to test his ego to see if he’ll be like, ‘Right, actually, I’m the man at heavyweight. I’m going to show you.’ So that’s what I’m working on at the moment,” he mentioned.

Though Jones has tangled with Aspinall, he has not hinted at getting in the octagon with him. Back in August, he declared that his “legacy will be just fine” without a title unification bout against Aspinall. Aspinall himself appeared to be resigned to the fact that the fight will never happen.

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.”

At 37, Jones is definitely in the twilight of his career, and this might just be the last time we see him in action. However, the biggest question is whether he will walk out as a champion or a former champion. A win might spur him on to face Aspinall and put the debate to rest. But first, he would have to overcome Miocic, who is strongly believed to hang up his gloves after the fight. So who does Aspinall thinks will come out on top between the two?

Tom Aspinall makes his prediction for the upcoming UFC 309 fight

There have been very few fights in the UFC that have drawn attention, such as the main event of UFC 309. However, it seems Stipe Miocic will be walking into the fight as a second favorite. The former champion was last seen in action at UFC 260 and, since then, has not competed in the Octagon. Jones, on the other hand, is also recovering from a shoulder injury, but he is slightly younger than Miocic and holds a slight advantage. So who does the backup fighter for the event, think will win?

He said, “Jon and Stipe? I would say, I would edge towards Jon, of course. Just because he is younger and a little bit fresher than Stipe, Stipe, let’s be honest. We don’t really know what’s up. He’s definitely is like the best heavyweight of all time, but he’s also 42 years old. But you know, his last fight, he got knocked out, which was like three or four years ago now”.

To be fair Tom Aspinall has given Stipe Miocic a far better chance than most of the experts out there. While he will be facing the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, one cannot rule out ‘The Baddest Firefighter in the World’ in a heavyweight clash. So, who do you think will win the fight between the two fighters at UFC 309? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.