Tom Aspinall Considers Jon Jones the Closest UFC Fighter to Perfection, Dismissing Alex Pereira and Others

Despite all the trash-talking ahead of the presumed UFC Heavyweight Title unification fight, it would appear interim champion Tom Aspinall still holds Jon Jones in extremely high regard. Even as he’s called out Jones on a number of occasions, Aspinall asserts that the undisputed heavyweight champion is the closest thing to perfection the UFC has ever seen.

Earlier last year, the undisputed champion had furiously claimed not wanting to fight Aspinall. The reason? Jones had asserted he wanted nothing to do with the Brit on account of him being an “A-hole”.

Regardless of this astounding disrespect, when Aspinall was asked to rate some of the best fighters the promotion had to offer, he scored Jones with a remarkable 9.5/10. “Nobody can be the perfect fighter but he’s close to it, definitely close,” Aspinall said.

Jones, of course, has been a stalwart in the UFC’s heavier weight classes with an impeccable 21-1-1 record. Since making his debut in 2008, the Rochester native has gone through at least three generations of world-class talents. Interestingly, the only other fighter, Aspinall ranked this high was middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.

According to the Brit, Du Plessis’s unpredictable style is what makes him so dangerous. “He makes that unorthodox style work for him. And none of his opponents have any idea how to deal with it, super smart fighter.”

Meanwhile, Jones and Aspinall are expected to be officially on a collision course soon. The only point of contention at this point, seems to be the purse for the champ. But Aspinall is not going to let this fight go so easily.

And especially since Alex Pereira (the opponent ‘Bones’ wanted to fight) will now be busy trying to win his belt back, the Brit is the only viable option left for the champ.

The other option he has is to hang up his gloves and walk away from the sport, which is also something he has been hinting at for a while now. However, that is unlikely to happen without him fighting one last time, at the least.

It’s not just the fans who are pushing to see this fight; even fellow UFC fighters are now putting the pressure on ‘Bones‘ to take on the interim champion.

Magomed Ankalaev calls out ‘Steroid Machine’ Jones

Following his title win at UFC 313 earlier this week, Ankalaev has now given himself the nickname ‘Big Ank’, similar to that of the Brit ‘Big Tom.’ And now he is throwing his weight behind Aspinall.

Ankalaev and Aspinall’s story have more or less been on a similar trajectory. The Dagestani fighter also had to wait for ages as Pereira tried to evade him in favor of more lucrative short-notice fights. So, perhaps he sees Aspinall on the same boat.

“Jonny steroid machine was very disappointed. I beat Alex please fight big Tom @AspinallMMA stop running”, he tweeted, calling Jones out for Ankalev.

Jones, meanwhile, has remained mum all this time, reposting only praises he receives from fans on social media. However, anyone familiar with Jones’ track record would know not to underestimate the champion.