244 days since last fight, Tom Aspinall sends message waiting for Jon Jones

UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall 'patiently' waiting for Jon Jones to unify UFC 265-pound titles after constant snubs and disregard.

244 days since last fight, Tom Aspinall sends message waiting for Jon Jones

UFC interim champ Tom Aspinall 'patiently' waiting for a Jon Jones unification (Source: X/IMAGO)

It’s loosely been over 500 days since Tom Aspinall bagged the 265-pound interim strap. He has clashed against champion Jon Jones for it, demanding unification. However, the said unification is yet to be. While the UFC brass is promoting that the fight will take place, there is no news on that front. Aspinall, though, is still sticking to it.

Aspinall is more than keen on his chance at the undisputed gold, even though he hints he’s ready to move on. During the UFC Fight Night 255 event, he presented having a meaningful meeting with UFC CEO Dana White and chief business officer/head litigation of the UFC Hunter Campbell. Now he doused that patience is a virtue and he’s sharpening in the shed, patiently.

Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.

Tom Aspinall via IG

The Brit interim HW has gone to the world’s end asking for unification. Tom Aspinall even turned up to the UFC Fight Night 255 event at The O2 in London with a rubber duck; i.e. – ‘duck’! However, he knows and even said that he ‘behaved’ while asking for his rightful pound of flesh. But reports are ‘Bones’ has stuck to a six-month preparation time and even a “f—k you” amount to compensate for his PPV title unification efforts.

There is no guarantee the fight happens. Jones’ three-year transition to 265 happened only when a contractual negotiation fell out and the lineal HW left. But Aspinall has been a company man and behaved. He even made a rare defense of the interim gold.

Despite ample opportunities, he has given GOAT Jon Jones his props. It’s only recently that he has gone on a more aggressive approach. During a recent sitdown on ‘The IMPAULSIVE’ Podcast, Aspinall even poked Jon Jones about running from big super fights like him and Francis Ngannou. One way or the other, he’s waiting out his shot.

UFC interim champion Tom Aspinall says Curtis Blaydes’ win should count as a legitimate title defense

Heavyweight Englishman Tom Aspinall is days away from Renan Barao’s rare record of holding an interim strap for 535 days. It’s been a long haul since November 2023, when he subbed in for Jon Jones and won the substitute hardware. Jones even returned to reel off 2-0 in the class at UFC 309 and made the ‘interim’ status moot. But he is unwilling to give Aspinall his chance to unify.

Tom Aspinall considers himself real UFC heavyweight
Tom Aspinall considers himself real UFC heavyweight (Source: X)

Chomping at every bit for any wiggle room, Aspinall told his fans about a meeting with UFC bossman during a London visit. However, before that, he contemplated if he has already, actually made a legit defense of his gold. That’d be a first-round TKO of Curtis Blaydes in Manchester, UFC 304 in July.

I don’t know. You see, it gets a bit complicated with that because to be the best heavyweight ever, you only need three title defenses, and do I have one or not? …I don’t know. I’m not sure. But I think I should have one because it was a legit title defense, but it was for an interim title, and it becomes a bit weird. So these are the questions I’m going to be asking the UFC.

Tom Aspinall to The Schmo via the Schmozone Podcast (@theschmo312)

After his win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jones presented Aspinall as not having a big enough legacy name. To that end, he was even willing to give then-champ Alex Pereira a chance. However, Tom Aspinall is of the opinion he is the ‘real’ heavyweight champ in contention and with active ballot appearances. So that’d make his title defense that much real as well.

With Pereira now losing at UFC 313, he thinks Jones has no other way out but a fight against him. It remains to be seen if he can really goad him into an offer for unification.

Related: Jon Jones ‘small flex’ backfires as newly crowned Magomed Ankalaev digs up dirty past