After demolishing Stipe Miocic in the UFC͏͏ 30͏9 ͏ma͏in ev͏e͏n͏t, ͏Jon Jones st͏͏a͏t͏ed, ͏”As͏ far as ͏m͏y futur͏e in t͏h͏e o͏ct͏agon͏,͏ I ͏deci͏ded͏ ͏͏th͏a͏t m͏͏ay͏be͏ I ͏wil͏l not re͏tire͏.” This single ͏stat͏em͏ent ͏͏͏b͏y the͏͏ GO͏AT of M͏MA ope͏͏͏ned up͏͏͏ multi͏ple͏ ͏po͏ssi͏͏͏biliti͏e͏s͏͏ ͏f͏or ͏the ͏heavyw͏e͏ig͏ht di͏visio͏n, all of which might seriously put a dent in Dana White and the UFC’s pockets. Do͏e͏s thi͏s mean Jones ͏wi͏͏ll c͏lash wit͏h͏ ͏Tom As͏p͏in͏͏a͏ll i͏n the ͏futur͏e? P͏er͏h͏a͏ps. ͏Ho͏wev͏e͏͏r,͏ such a͏ m͏atchup ͏͏m͏ig͏ht re͏͏͏quire ͏͏a he͏fty p͏ayou͏t.

Before Jon Jones’s fight, Dana White asserted that if ‘Bones’ decided to not retire from the sport after UFC 309 then he would definitely have to defend his title against Tom Aspinall sooner or later and it appears that it might happen sooner than expected. But the amount Jones is asking for the fight may be an obstacle in the clash. How much is Jones asking for the fight? Well, according to some sources, ‘Bones is asking $30 million.

Interestingly, this is the same amount that Jon Jones asked to fight Francis Ngannou, “In his deal, he’s talking he wants $30 million guaranteed. The way that this works is, these guys all share in the pay-per-view,” said Dana White back in 2021. Back then, White called it ‘Tyson Fury’ type of money and did not entertain the request. Almost four years later, will we see a different response?

At the UFC 309 post-fight presser, Jones made his stance clear. He had no intention of sharing the spotlight with Aspinall. The champion said, “He’s annoying to me and that’s my own personal—he annoys me. I get it you guys find it entertaining, but I find him annoying. I just don’t like him and at the end of the day, if I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be so compensated-I want to say it, I want that ‘f-ck you’ money, honestly. That’s just what it is.”

‘Bones’ further asserted, “Or else my life is perfect without him. I don’t need him at all and he needs me and that’s a good place to be in a negotiation.” Jones may not have dropped a number publicly, but he insists that it should be  “a very, very high number” and $30M sounds like a good starting point for those guessing. Well, the promotion has yet to make any comments on such claims but it must be noted that Aspinall has grown tired of waiting.

In his conversation with ‘TNT Sports’, Aspinall went all in against Jon Jones, “Day one, as a professional UFC fighter, if someone asks you about some other opponent, say I’m fighting you [interviewer Adam Catterall] this weekend, if someone asks me, ‘Right, what about this other guy who’s not involved?’ I say, ‘I’m gonna get past Adam and then we’ll speak about him.”

He further added, “Jon [Jones] didn’t do that. Jon immediately starts saying, ‘No, I don’t want to fight Tom,’ which the easiest thing in the world would be, ‘I’m gonna talk about it after Saturday. I’m not talking about it this week,’ but he kept bringing that into the conversation, and that is high-level business, really high level.” Well, this fight is one of the most looked-forward-to fights in the heavyweight division and a must-win fight for both of them but who stands where at the matchup? Ciryl Gane has the answer to this question.

Ciryl Gane gives his honest perspective on Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall’s dilemma

Jon Jones might be the greatest fighter to have ever stepped inside of the Octagon but Tom Aspinall might be the fighter to finally give him a run for his money. Tom Aspinall has 15 victories in his MMA career and he has finished 14 of them in the very first round. The Britisher has been regarded as one of the biggest punchers in the division and as he is pushing to fight ‘Bones’, Ciryl Gane has come forward to declare his own verdict on the clash.

While having a conversation with ‘TalkSport, Ciryl Gane asserted that he has fought Jones and he can state that Aspinall has a better chance of defeating him, “For the fight against Stipe, everything was possible, because Stipe is a really great fighter, really well-rounded. But he’s [Jones] proved other times that he is so dangerous, he’s capable of changing, he can do everything he wants. So even if you have a guy who is really good with his striking or wrestling, he can manage this. I’m going to say Tom because he’s more well-rounded, but when you have a guy like Alex Pereira, he’s so dangerous on the striking, so everything is possible,” said Gane.

Ciryl Gane was the debut fight for Jon Jones in the heavyweight division and Jones took the French fighter to school as he submitted him in the very first round. Regardless, will Jones vs. Aspinall ever materialize? State your thoughts in the comments below.