Former UFC two-division champion Jon Jones has had his say on Tom Aspinall’s decision to vacate the promotion’s heavyweight championship, taking to X to question the Englishman’s desire to fight.
Jones responded with just three words to a post that claimed Aspinall’s injury wasn’t that big of a deal and the UFC was confident he could defend his belt in due course.
“Aspinall, however, knows he can’t beat Ciryl Gane, so took the easy way out,” the post from a user called ‘The Honest Jones Fan’ added.
Jon Jones’ Long Beef With Tom Aspinall
Prior to Jones’ retirement from the sport, a fight between the pair was much anticipated, but many thought Bones was ducking the Aspinall fight.
The American fighter won the vacant heavyweight title after defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 and subsequently fought former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, with the latter coming off a more than three-year layoff for the bout.
In the intervening period, Aspinall had won the interim heavyweight title after finishing Sergei Pavlovich inside one round. He even became one of the few men in UFC history to defend an interim belt, and when the pair finally looked set to face off, Jones said he was more interested in a legacy fight against Alex Pereira, before finally hanging up his gloves.
Jon Jones’ Reaction to Tom Aspinall Vacating
In response to the insinuation that Aspinall was running scared of a rematch with Gane, Jones posted: “My sentiments exactly.”
Regarding his decision, Aspinall said: “I’ve now made the decision to vacate the heavyweight title. I’ve asked the UFC to allow me to make this statement because I don’t want to hold the heavyweight division up.
“I know what it’s like to have your career put on hold and I want the other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title.”
Tom Aspinall’s Eye Injury Explained
Aspinall suffered the eye injury at UFC 321 in October in Abu Dhabi during a heavyweight championship defence against France’s Gane. The challenger was warned for eye pokes by the referee during the fight, before it was eventually stopped and ruled a no contest, with Aspinall saying he was unable to see.
The Brit has not fought since.
The 33-year-old did, however, say that he was not done fighting and that he will return as soon as he is medically cleared to fight.
Aspinall had looked set to rematch Gane at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on the 14th of November, but an incident in training aggravated the eye issue, and he is no longer medically cleared to fight.
