Interim champion Tom Aspinall didn’t get a title unification fight against ‘undisputed’ heavyweight champ Jon Jones, which he desperately yearned for. However, he did get pretty close at UFC 309, where he was the backup fighter for ‘Bones’s clash with Stipe Miocic. While the Englishman unfortunately didn’t get to step in for that fight, it seems he made a pretty packet just for being the backup.

Leaked texts between UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell, and probably someone from Aspinall’s team have revealed that the Englishman got paid $200k for being the backup. “For 200k, I’d very much appreciate if he can wait until they walk. I’d kill myself if I said something happened,” the UFC matchmaker wrote in the text.

As the backup fighter, the Englishman would have had to step in if either Jones or Miocic couldn’t make it to the octagon. But since both men were healthy and able to fight, Aspinall was left out in the cold yet again. On the other hand, even if Miocic had met with some unfortunate accident, Jones would almost definitely still have refused to fight him on short notice. Although, it is safe to say that Miocic may have been more amenable to facing Aspinall if the shoe was on the other foot.

Now the UFC heavyweight title is seemingly within reach for Aspinall, even if Jon Jones has expressed a desire to fight light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. But while ‘Bones’ had been dismissive of the prospect of fighting Aspinall, the ‘undisputed’ champ has been far more amenable to it after UFC 309.

Jon Jones has one condition for a possible Tom Aspinall clash

Jon Jones said at the UFC 309 post-fight presser that wants “f***k you money” to fight Aspinall. After all, ‘Bones’ feels that the interim champ ‘needs’ him while his own life and legacy are ‘perfect’ without ever needing to fight the Englishman. While some see this as a negotiating tactic from Jones to get the most money he could for an Aspinall fight, others suspect it is just the MMA GOAT pricing himself out of ever facing the interim champ.

But with Dana White having come out against a possible Jones-Pereira fight and thrown his weight behind Aspinall, it seems that the chances of a heavyweight unification bout have gone up significantly. It all comes down to whether Jones wants to fight Aspinall. After all, he has already said that he would be happy to retire unless he gets his terms.

After all, Aspinall is quite a challenge for the champ. With his remarkably well-rounded game, astounding speed, and natural size advantage over Jones, he has all the attributes required to beat Jones. And the undisputed king just may not want to risk his essentially undefeated record and thus his legacy in a clash with the young and hungry lion. What do you think about Tom Aspinall’s pay for being the UFC 309 main event backup fighter?