Tom Aspinall Pinpoints Exactly When He Knew Jon Jones’ PPV Unifier Was In Gutter After ‘Recent Behavior’ in Thailand

According to Tom Aspinall, Jon Jones’s rumored behavior in Thailand foreshadowed the failed UFC PPV unification clash and that he'd hang up.

Tom Aspinall Pinpoints Exactly When He Knew Jon Jones’ PPV Unifier Was In Gutter After ‘Recent Behavior’ in Thailand

Per Tom Aspinall, Jon Jones’s rumored ‘behavior’ was a telltale sign of retirement (Source: X/IMAGO)

The dreary double-year UFC heavyweight unification drama has finally come to an end. Jon Jones has relinquished his official spot for the new undisputed 265-pound champ Tom Aspinall. It was a 7+ months hassle of negotiating a PPV monetary limit for the UK native. During which, Aspinall has said he kept his ears to the ground for rumblings.

Jones’ heavyweight logjam concluded after months of back-and-forth speculation over a measly possibility of a PPV title unifier; per UFC execs and the boss, they were down with the finances, and it was a done deal. However, per Tom Aspinall, he has had a one few moles too many on the side of “Bones” pitching he doesn’t want this fight (shocker there).

A few months ago, Jones was in Thailand, where he was about to fight Nate Diaz as trainers on a spinoff of The Ultimate Fighter with several regional fighters. Following an on-set altercation, the show was suddenly canceled, prompting Diaz and his team to pull out.

Bones stayed on; Jon Jones taught a seminar Q&A at Bangtao Muay Thai MMA gym; during his Thai trip, he pacified Aspinall-shaped queries with hints of a 2026 octagon return tease. According to Aspinall, he was acquainted with a number of individuals who had spent time with Jones in Thailand and who were able to offer him a perspective on Jones’s dubious/indifferent conduct in the midst of the ongoing PPV compensatory negotiations.

A few weeks ago. Everybody seemed to think that Jon was playing this game of ‘Let’s make Tom not think I’m giving him the fight, and then I’ll just spring it on him’. But the MMA community, …at the highest level, is a pretty small world, …And I know people who have been out in Thailand, similar times that he was there. And I know people who were around his circle, and I know that from the behavior he’s doing outside the Octagon, that he’s not going to fight anytime soon.

Tom Aspinall on “The Ariel Helwani Show” for ‘Uncrowned’ Combat

Tom Aspinall’s long-awaited opportunity to unify for the undisputed 265-pound title was unexpectedly derailed by Jon Jones’s unexpected retirement. But the telltale signs weren’t just from last weekend; it’s on the lines of Conor McGregor glooming up fans with anything, literally anything but fighting.

The Irishman hasn’t actively fought since his 2021 TKO leg break, and his UFC 303 PPV kickoff media presser at 3Arena was to be a slight reprieve. British star Tom Aspinall did warn the fight community that Jones would hang it up, and he did.

Aspinall said the fight community was a small world in all actuality, and Jones’ mentality did not shout out camp training and unification. Guess his ask for six months in camp and a rumored figure of $30 million in PPV compensatory amount were stalling steps, too, which is weird for Aspinall because he thinks his work ethic makes it easy to work with him.

Pressed about it, Tom Aspinall gets into his mindset and why Jon Jones would not work with him

8-1 since joining up, and with a latest first-round TKO over Curtis Blaydes defending his substitute strap, it’s noticeable how Tom Aspinall is not just a hot new thing in passing. Per statleaders.ufc.com, AKA the Record Books, he logs in the least bottom position time dominated, gets the job done on his feet within the first round due to his speed advantage.

Tom Aspinall glad Jon Jones unfication saga is over and done with
Tom Aspinall glad Jon Jones unfication saga is over and done with (Source: X)

It would have been a perfect stiff test against the longevity of Jon Jones’ battle IQ of picking apart opponents. However, the veteran avoided the New-Gen heavyweight and interim champ like the plague, saying his legacy would not inherit much from a small-time name.

Others have supported this purport, given all else on the 265-pound roster might not be as dauntingly similar as Aspinall. However, he is anything but small-time. At one point in time, Jon Jones even negligently refused to do any business with him, billing him an ‘a**hole’ due to his constant pokes for a PPV unifier. Aspiall considers himself a hoot to work with and the whole ordeal was in bad taste:

I honestly think I’ve got to be one of the easiest people for the UFC to ever work with. And that’s not me blowing my own trumpet, everything they’ve told me, I’ve done. They just told me for a year, ‘Be ready, stay fit, stay in shape and be ready for a date and a contract’. And that’s what I’ve done for the last year, I haven’t done anything else,…everything that a professional fighter at the elite level should be doing to get ready for a fight. That’s all I’ve done for the last 10 months, or whatever it’s been. It’s a bit of a strange situation, but I’m just so glad it’s done and I can move on.

Tom Aspinall further said

Following Jones’ retirement and Aspinall’s promotion, the UFC’s 265-pound weight class is poised for a high level of activity. Aspinall may face one of Jones’s former opponents in his first heavyweight title defense, or maybe even one of his.

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