Amidst the chaos over whether or not Jon Jones will be fighting Tom Aspinall, there has only been one constant- the imaginary $30 million price tag Joe Rogan had claimed the champion was asking for the fight. The rumored number was put to rest as quickly as it had come up, but it would appear MMA media including veteran fighters are still betting on it to come true.
Joining the chorus is former double champ Henry Cejudo, who is now urging the UFC heavyweight champion to stand his ground. In Cejudo’s eyes, Jones is worth every penny of that $30 million.
While the number may be imaginary, Jones‘ point of view on the subject has always been clear. During the lead up to his first title defense at UFC 309 last year, the Rochester native had simplified it for the plethora of media persons clamoring for answers on the proposed match up.
If he was going to fight Aspinall, the payday needed to be worth a loss, if it came to it.
Cejudo’s backing of the demand doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise since his friendship with the perceived GOAT has never been a secret. But there is a lot of objectivity to what he had to say on Instagram.
Addressing the Top 3 fights Jones might have in 2025, Cejudo asserted that Aspinall would be No.1 on the list but cited the promotion’s treatment of Khabib Nurmagomedov as a justifiable reason for demanding a huge paycheck.
“If the UFC was able to offer Khabib Nurmagomedov $40 million, what is the greatest of all time worth? I would say Jon stick to that number and I would not go past the dude,” he said.
It is widely speculated that after Khabib had prematurely announced his retirement in 2020, bossman Dana White was willing to offer him something in the ballpark of $40 million for a contract negotiation.
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But while Khabib had been open about never returning and had vacated the title, Jones holds on it for dear life, giving the due impression that he is happy to hold up the division for a bigger bag of cash.
Meanwhile, the interim champion Aspinall has visibly grown rather confident of the undisputed title fight, especially since Alex Pereira’s loss to Magomed Ankalaev earlier this week at UFC 313.
Pereira’s loss forces Jones’ hand
Since Jones’ return to media blitz last year, the champion had put his weight behind former light heavyweight champion Pereira for a megafight. Pereira had also time and again reiterated the sentiment, claiming there was not much stopping the matchup and they would eventually fight at some point in the near future.
However, Pereira’s timid loss and subsequent possibility of a rematch with Ankalaev for the 2o5 lbs title has put Jones in an awkward position. Pereira can no longer claim invincibility. Being outsmarted by Ankalaev for 5 rounds ensured that he is not equipped to take on a well-rounded fighter.
With Jones being at the pinnacle of MMA greatness, this greatly reduces the attraction towards the fight. So, now the only two options for Jones at hand are – Retire or take on Aspinall and find out if he can take over this new generation of heavyweight fighters.
