UFC fans have come out in hordes to support their interim heavyweight champion. Tom Aspinall has been waiting, and waiting…. and waiting some more to find out whether or not he’s going to be the man to send Jon Jones into retirement.
Well, no insinuation of an Aspinall victory here. The only reason we spoke of the Jones retirement is because the champ has confirmed it may be his last fight.
With no real updates for months now, and plans of an Alex Pereira fight falling through, ‘Bones’ really has no other option but to defend his title against the rightful challenger. Aspinall won the interim title back in 2023, then defended it in 2024. But he still hasn’t gotten his title shot.
Jones, on the other hand, defended his title in November last year and has not made any announcements since. Fans believe the Jones bias is growing by the day because Dana White would not have let any other champion stay this inactive for so long.
So when White went live on Instagram yesterday to announce Topuria vs. Oliveira, fans were just interested to know about the fight between Aspinall and Jones. And the UFC bossman had a cheeky and noncommittal response to queries about the heavyweight blockbuster.
“We’ll get Aspinall vs Jones done… the heavyweight fight will happen. Just relax, I’ll announce that soon,” said White.
Dana White says he’ll be announcing Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall soon
“We’ll get Aspinall vs Jones done… the heavyweight fight will happen. Just relax, I’ll announce that soon.”
@danawhite #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/mBFcJcjddo
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 13, 2025
The fans have been hearing the same thing for months, with no concrete signs that the fight would take place. Redditors have hit out at the UFC boss now and urged Aspinall to follow the Francis Ngannou route.
“He should go to PFL and make that superfight with Ngannou to happen. It will be easier than waiting for Dana,” a frustrated fan commented.
“He should just leave the UFC at this point. Why stay in a company that doesn’t value you,” another fan wrote. The consensus was that fans didn’t want to see Aspinall go down the same road as Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz.
Fans on Reddit urge Tom Aspinall to leave the UFC pic.twitter.com/lI51PJBh2H
— THE UFCGUY (@the_ufcguy) May 14, 2025
One fan felt that the delay would ultimately end up diluting Aspinall’s legacy and career. “Every win he gets could’ve been a title defence ffs, he would’ve been on the way to matching Stipe’s record. Now it’s like his career is paused,” they wrote.
The ducking comments are all over Jones‘ Instagram, X, and any other social media accounts. Fans are letting it be known what they think of the inactivity from the champion. But ‘Bones’ seems least bothered by them.
Jones shuts down ‘ducking’ Aspinall comments
Jones has been the heavyweight champion for 801 days now, while Aspinall has held the interim title for 549 days. So, for the majority of his title reign, the Brit has been the interim champ.
Not just that, in 801 days, ‘Bones’ has defended his title just once, which is unprecedented for a champion. And when fans call out Jones on his social media for his inactivity, the champ turns a blind eye. Usually.
However, in a recent live video on Instagram, he was filming himself riding a motorbike through the city. The entire comments section was flooded with duck emojis and comments.
In response to the comments, Jones said, “I’ve got people in the chat calling me a duck. Meanwhile, I’m living my absolute best life….I don’t know if it’s considered ducking when you’re living good. I don’t think it works like that.”
Jon Jones responds on IG live to everyone who says he is ducking Tom Aspinall:
“I’ve got people in the chat calling me a duck. Meanwhile, I’m living my absolute best life”
“I don’t know if it’s considered ducking when you’re living good. I don’t think it works like that.” pic.twitter.com/AFpcyqL48d
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) May 13, 2025
Although he addressed the comments, he did not give any clear reason for not fighting Aspinall. “Living his best life” is not the job of a champion, after all.
The champion has to constantly prove that he holds the belt for a reason, taking on the best the division can throw at him. And Jones has failed to do so. But should Aspinall pay the price for Jones’ ineptitude, and leave the best promotion in the sport?