Tom Aspinall Receives Fan Endorsement as UFC Heavyweight Champion Amidst Jon Jones Controversy

Harddit Bedi | 07/04/2024
Sean O’Malley Labels Tom Aspinall's Situation ‘Shi**y’ After Missing Out on Jon Jones Fight Meanwhile, Aspinall has mentioned more than once that he's ready to be the backup fighter for the event and would step in on a moment’s notice if needed to face either of them.  After months 0f waiting, he has now started to call out Jones as well with the express intention of getting under his skin. And from Jones' regular reaction to random Twitter users trolling him, that skin is not as thick as one might have thought.  Besides, with Jones hinting at retirement post the Miocic fight, Aspinall has been asking him just hand him the undisputed title as he leaves the arena.  Aspinall's Muhammad Ali tactics Muhammad Ali was the master of mental warfare, using it to his advantage like no one else in combat sports. Once, to lock in a fight with Sonny Liston, Ali went all out—he followed Liston around, popped up at his gym, even crashed his press conferences, and more.  Now, former UFC fighter Ben Askren is telling Aspinall to take a page out of Ali’s playbook and do whatever it takes to get a fight with Jones. It’s a cool idea, though it might be tricky since they're not even in the same country. It would also appear that Askren has a very limited idea of what makes a law since doing all that in 2024 is very illegal. Also, nobody wants to be yelling anything at Jon Jones' lawn. That's a good way to get shot. Still, you’ve got to appreciate Askren’s passion—he’s just as eager to see Jones vs. Aspinall as the rest of us are!

Jon Jones is in deep waters and Tom Aspinall might get to benefit from it. In a recent turn of events, Heavyweight champion Jon Jones allegedly assaulted an anti-doping testing officer in his hometown, Albuquerque. Although the charge leaves room for speculation, Jones will have to face the consequences if these allegations are proven to be true.

Among the many punishments the UFC can choose to impose, it is possible that Jones might be stripped of his championship. Hence, with Tom Aspinall being the interim champion, he may be bestowed the world champion title by default. Unsurprisingly, fans have already come up with their versions of the event and believe the right course of action would be to make Aspinall the champion.

The fan reactions make it quite apparent that UFC followers are least interested in cutting Jones some slack. At the same time, they cannot stop praising Aspinall and are mostly in favor of him becoming the champion of the heavyweight division.

A commenter on X claimed Jon Jones intended to be stripped of the title just to prevent his inevitable fight with Tom Aspinall.

Fans were also heavily in favor of Aspinall, as one insisted that the 30-year-old has already become the heavyweight champion given the circumstances.

Likewise, another fan seconded this by claiming that the interim heavyweight champion need not prove his mettle as he was already a more established fighter.

Such reactions show that fans have made their favorite in this clash quite evident. However, Jones has completely refuted the charges against him and will remain the champion unless proven guilty.

Jon Jones breaks his silence

According to Jon Jones, these allegations have a mala fide intention behind them and lack merit. To substantiate his claim, he shared a video of him cooperating with the doping agents and even escorting them out after getting tested. Basing his claim on the video, Jones insisted that has has never been any proof of him getting violent or assaulting the testing agents.

“I want to address reports about me allegedly threatening a drug tester’s life and taking a phone,” He added, “I want to clarify that there is a video showing both drug testers leaving my home after the testing session, where we exchanged a high five and a hug. Although I was frustrated with the unprofessionalism and used profanity out of frustration it ended friendly and amicably, nothing threatening at all.”

While the public has already made their stance known, one must wait for the justice system to take its rightful course. Still, the allegations have given the champion a pretty bad look and the UFC will surely keep a close eye on the case.

Post Edited By: Shraman Mitra
Jon Jones Tom Aspinall

About the author

Harddit Bedi

Harddit Bedi

Harddit Bedi is a UFC writer at The SportsRush. His love for the sport brew after witnessing Conor “Notorious” McGregor redefine limitations by crossing over to face Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather and since then he has been obsessed. His love for the world of combat is not confined to the capacity of a spectator but also an athlete in his own right. He has competed in several boxing matches in inter-university tournaments, proving that he lives the life of a Martial Artist. Moreover, he is not confined in that capacity as he amalgamate his love for fighting and writing by becoming a sports journalist. With over 2 and a half years of experience, he has reported over 1500 articles. Safe to say, he is as passionate as one can get about combat sports.

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