‘Knock it off’… Jon Jones shakes as Dana White confirms UFC 309 winner to fight Tom Aspinall

On By Littum

Jon Jones wasn’t too impressed when Dana White suggested he might have to fight one of his biggest rivals after his fight on Saturday night.

The legendary two-division world champion faces Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in the main event of UFC 309. But despite his opponent’s legendary status as a two-time former heavyweight titleholder, the build-up has been completely overshadowed by interim champion Tom Aspinall.

Manchester native Aspinall has been in New York bothering himself all week but opted out of going to Thursday night’s press conference. But his presence was deeply felt, and the mention of his name evoked rapturous applause.

Jon Jones is reeling after Dana White declared the UFC 309 winner will face Tom Aspinall

During the press conference for UFC 309, questions were asked of Dana White and the main event fighters regarding the status of a potential heavyweight title unification for the winner. The Brit not only won but also defended his interim title since Jon Jones picked up the vacant strap last March.

And when White responded that “the winner should absolutely fight Tom,” the Theater at Madison Square Garden erupted in support of Aspinall. But Jones seemed unimpressed and angrily told fans chanting for his rival to “knock it off”.

It follows comments from White on The Jim Rome Show, where he stated that Jones will only fight in the UFC again if against Aspinall. The heavyweight champion has regularly claimed he would rather fight Alex Pereira, but the promotional boss reckons it’s not a fight he wants to make.

“If he wins, he’ll go away for a while and the competitive spirit will start bubbling up again,” White said of Jones. “And then the money will talk. If he doesn’t decide to retire, he’s absolutely, positively fighting Aspinall. He’s not fighting Pereira.

“He was a middleweight who moved up to light heavyweight. He is also a kickboxer who has done very, very well in MMA. His wrestling is not even close to Jon Jones’ level and Jon Jones is way bigger than him. If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall.”

Jon Jones has claimed he will never ‘do business’ with Tom Aspinall

But the matchup doesn’t seem to appeal to Jones at all. Having beaten the best at light-heavyweight before moving up to become champion in another division, he is more intent on cementing his legacy by facing big names, even if they are not the best opponents.

On top of that idea, he has also decided that Aspinall, as well as his rowdy British fanbase, have been disrespectful in their efforts to earn a fight. He even branded the famously polite Brit an ‘a**hole’ during an intense media day on Wednesday.

(L-R) Jon Jones and Alex Pereira compete at UFC 306 at the Riyadh Season Noche UFC event at the Sphere on September 14, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

“To be completely honest, I feel like Tom has been such an a-hole that I don’t want to deal with him,” Jones said. “His fans have been so annoying. Obviously, you don’t get very far in a career that is influenced by fans and stuff.

“But he’s just an a-hole. He’s 31, so he’s from this influencer generation where you jump online and T-shirt sales and all that. I’m over that kind of stuff. I’m like, ‘bro, if you had a little more respect, maybe we could have worked something out’.

“But I just don’t even want to deal with him. At the end of the day, this is business. Fighting me gives him an opportunity to change his life forever. And I don’t even want to give him the opportunity. He was just playing his cards wrong with me personally.”

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