Ex-UFC Star Echoes Tom Aspinall’s Accusations That Dana White and Jon Jones Are ‘Holding UFC Belt Hostage’

Kevin Binoy | 20/08/2024
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!

UFC’s interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has been pursuing an undisputed title shot against Jon Jones for a while now. But despite his recent victories, the company intent on having Stipe Miocic take on Jones for the title, leading Aspinall to believe that the company is holding his title hostage, something this former heavyweight agrees with.

The British fighter recently joined his compatriot Michael Bisping on his podcast, ‘Believe You Me’, where he was uncharacteristically aggressive and claimed that he was not getting any credit despite being the best heavyweight fighter in the world.

“I’m the best heavyweight in the world, and I’m not getting my credit for it. They’re holding the belt hostage.”

As popular as this sentiment is, there haven’t been any UFC fighters being as open about it.. until yesterday, when Brendan Schaub tweeted about it in agreement.

“Facts.”


The 31-year-old pointed out a few undeniable facts during his interview with Bisping and made his case for a title shot. He said that he had knocked out two top contenders back to back in Blaydes and Pavlovich in a combined time of two minutes and nine seconds.

And while he has been doing that, Jones has been sitting at home with ‘cheetos’ dust on his finger tweeting about him.

Aspinall went on to add that Jones was terrified of him and it appears he would retire Jones without even fighting him.

The interim heavyweight champion also poked fun at White bringing up Jones everywhere he goes regardless of the conversation he is a part of.

And he is not wrong. In what has become a meme of sorts, White has been seen singing the praises of the undisputed champion despite his continued absence from the octagon. During a recent media interaction, the UFC president also justified his decision to pair the 41-year-old Miocic with Jones.

White explains Miocic over Aspinall decision

During a recent interview, White shed further light on his thought process of sticking with Miocic rather than allowing Aspinall fight for the real title.

According to the UFC head honcho, the Miocic fight had been in the works for a long time and then Jones got injured. So, technically, they are just going ahead with what the plan already was.

White also added that Miocic had paid his dues in the sport and therefore, deserved a title shot.

However, all hope is not lost for Aspinall fans as the Brit will be the stand in as a back up fighter for the Jones vs Miocic fight, and is willing to step in even if it is on an hour’s notice. Of course, this will depend on if either Jones or Miocic pulls out at the last moment.

Post Edited By: Smrutisnat Jena
Jon Jones Tom Aspinall

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Kevin Binoy

With more than 4 years of journalistic experience in the mixed martial arts industry, Kevin Binoy is a true connoisseur of the sport. He is an MMA journalist at The SportsRush but the 'break room historian' watches every sport under the sun. While his degree in economics enables him to call Paris home, Kevin only ever humbly brags having caught a glimpse of Demetrious Johnson that one time LIVE in Singapore. Kevin has covered countless UFC PPVs with over 2500 articles and millions of views to his name. He mainly covers PPVs and Fight Nights but also has a finger on the pulse of MMA pop culture.

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