If all goes well with Dana White and Hunter Campbell, Tom Aspinall will get his wish and face Jon Jones in the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history. While that matchup has been everything he’s wanted since capturing the interim heavyweight title in November 2023, the Briton was forced to wait while Jones settled unfinished business with Stipe Miocic. On Saturday night at UFC 309, Jones did his part with a one-sided performance before finishing off Miocic with a brutal roundhouse backward kick to the body in the third round.

After the fight, Joe Rogan asked him if he would grant Tom Aspinall a title shot. As a result, the interim champion expected Jones to give him a callout from the Octagon, accepting his challenge. However, ‘Bones’ deflected this question by taking the time to thank Jesus Christ for helping him succeed, while also announcing his decision not to retire. What a way to rub salt in the wound for the Englishman!

In his post-fight speech, Jon Jones said, “Out in the moment while everybody’s cheering and so happy, I want to acknowledge Jesus Christ. I really can’t take credit for a gift like this, I really owe it all to him.”. This moment took Aspinall by surprise as he called it a ‘curveball’ with the interim champion saying, “Listen. He’s acknowledging Jesus. That was a curveball. He went ‘Jesus Christ’ instead of me.” Furthermore, Jones said that he would speak to Dana White and Hunter Campbell about his future bouts, and promised to ‘give fans what they want’. Now, whether Jones is referring to Tom Aspinall or Alex Pereira is up to anyone’s guess.

However, Tom Aspinall seemed glad that Jon Jones didn’t end up retiring and teased a possible match-up with him, despite not explicitly taking his name. hinting about the plans for a fight that the fans want. All that MMA fans had been rooting for is for Jon Jones to go toe-to-toe against the Englishman in a title unification fight. But Jones was adamant about not facing ‘Honey Badger’ calling him an ‘a—-ole’, claiming that Aspinall ‘hasn’t proven anything’.

‘Bones’ essentially has a problem with a relatively newer fighter like Tom Aspinall making a name off of him. Hence, instead of granting the interim heavyweight champion his due, he expressed his interest in fighting Alex Pereira. However, now it finally seems like Jon Jones might be warming up the fight that fans have been gunning for. However, it makes one wonder how Jon Jones might have been convinced to consider the Englishman. Did the UFC play a part in convincing him?

Tom Aspinall believes the UFC was involved in the decision

In an interview after UFC 309, Tom Aspinall talked about a moment he shared with Dana White and Hunter Campbell when Jones was delivering his post-fight speech. When Jones was delivering his monologue, Aspinall looked directly at UFC bosses. They also happened to look at Aspinall at the same time, pointing at and winking at him simultaneously. According to the Englishman, it seemed like the management was heavily involved in helping ‘Bones’ change his mind about the fight.

And while it would be a tough fight for Jones, it will be Aspinall’s biggest challenge. Something that he is aware of. “This is the most important fight in the UFC. It’s huge. This is potentially one of the biggest fights in MMA right now. If that doesn’t interest Jon Jones, then I don’t know what else we can do. Everyone knows that this is the fight that must be made. This is the fight that people want. This is the fight the UFC wants. This is the fight the fans want. This is the fight that has to happen now.”

To fuel Tom Aspinall’s optimism, Dana White claimed the fight between Jones and Aspinall would be the ‘biggest heavyweight fight ever’. He also expressed a lack of interest in making the Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira fight. If all goes well, we may see a heavyweight title unification bout sooner than expected.

Do you think Jon Jones is still ducking Aspinall, or will the heavyweight champion oblige the interim champion in a title unification bout? If they end up fighting, who do you think wins? Let us know in the comments section below.