Jon Jones is ‘pricing himself out’ of a Tom Aspinall UFC Fight, here’s why
Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall saga remain one intriguing storyline where a champ openly rejected to fight the interim champion.
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Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall together (Image via X)
Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is clearly pricing himself out of a fight with Tom Aspinall, at least publicly. After defeating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jones has continued to try and push for a fight with Alex Periera. However, UFC CEO Dana White clarified that it is Aspinall or bust for the man that he still calls the GOAT of MMA.
Jones responded with the requirement of “f*** you money” to face the British interim champion. One might think the monetary demands seemingly remains the only thing that he won’t budge on to fight again. “I don’t want to fight dangerous up and comers anymore,” the undisputed champion claimed after beating Miocic. It appears money isn’t stopping him from fighting Aspinall, at least that is clear for me.
Jon Jones looks ‘good’ either way
What interests me is the fact that Jones does not bring up any sort of money issues when he discusses the potential fight with Pereira. Jones has said that he will give up the heavyweight title to fight ‘Poatan.’ Dana White has already said that Jones vs. Aspinall would be the “biggest fight in heavyweight history.”
Clearly, Jones is making sure that if he is going to be put in the cage with Aspinall, it’s going to be for a massive payday. This is eerily close to what happened when we wanted to see Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones. There is absolutely no way that White or the company will let a fighter the stature of Jones to just walk away and get much bigger paydays elsewhere.
They [the UFC] really do not want eggs on their faces in the same way that they had with Ngannou. As such, they will probably end up paying Jones what he wants for this fight. Jones will come out of this looking good either way. First reason is because he will likely accept the fight against Aspinall for 2025 and be the ‘guy’ that accepted the massive challenge,
If not, the undisputed heavyweight champion can claim that the UFC won’t pay up and give the fans “what they want.” It’s a very clever marketing tactic, and if we as viewers have not learned that half the battle in combat sports, especially in the modern era, is drawing an audience that wants to pay to see the fights? Then, we really haven’t learned anything.
Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall might happen in Saudi Arabia
I can still see Jones vs. Aspinall happening, and it would not shock me one bit to see the fight take place in Saudi Arabia. The UFC (and their partner under TKO Group, WWE), have extremely close ties to Saudi. As such, this would be an ideal fight to sell them as one of the biggest PPVs that they could put in the Middle East.
Jones probably earns around the $10 million range when he fights, taking into account bonuses, PPV and everything that comes with it. If it came out tomorrow that Jones was demanding a guarantee of $15-20 Million to get in the cage with Aspinall, then that absolutely would not shock me.
The issue that the UFC has bent over backwards to help Jones in the past, and now it is coming back to bite them. Ngannou’s situation, and him leaving the company to work with PFL and get some huge paydays in boxing has certainly not helped either. Jones could easily point to that situation and say “I’m leaving too unless you pay me,” which may well have already happened.
Pricing himself out
As you’ve probably guessed by this point, I don’t genuinely think that Jones is pricing himself out. What I actually believe, is that he is deliberately putting the UFC in a position where they either pay up the big bucks for the fight that they want or he walks. Either way, he looks ‘good’ in the situation, which is exactly what he and his people want.
I do think that this is a fight worthy of a big arena in Vegas or even Madison Square Garden for the prestige of the building. However, if the company decides to try and sell this fight to Saudi Arabia, then it would not shock me either. Riyadh Season having Jones vs. Aspinall between October-December 2025 in the Kingdom would probably make the most sense if it is going to take place in the region.
There’s absolutely no way that we’re going to see Jones vs. Pereira. It is not because Poatan himself wouldn’t relish the chance to take such a big fight. However, the UFC boss has said that Jones was way too big at this point physically to be fighting someone moving from middleweight up to light heavyweight up again to heavyweight.
Dana White and his team will find a way to make this happen. Nevertheless, it is going to cost a hell of a lot of money; Jones knows that, and he is making sure that publicly he is playing all of his cards in the right way to ensure that the company pays him every single cent that he wants to get in the cage with someone as deadly as Tom Aspinall.
Related: Conor McGregor future after civil case: Does UFC continue business with the superstar or split ways?
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Jake Skudder
(17 Articles Published)