"I'd probably vacate the belt" - Jon Jones shares retirement plan, prophecies grim future for Tom Aspinall in UFC
Jon Jones has, once again, taken to X/Twitter to take aim at Tom Aspinall and everyone criticizing him for avoiding a matchup with the Englishman. In a series of tweets, that may or may not be deleted after a certain point, Jones dismissed the notion that he needs to fight Aspinall.
He asserted that his legacy as arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time will remain bulletproof, before predicting that Aspinall will suffer his first legitimate UFC loss within his next two or three fights. A bold claim if there ever was one, especially given Aspinall's assertion that he could beat Jones.
Jones' tweet read:
"Sure, call me a duck for the next year, eventually Tom [Aspinall] will lose within the next two or three fights and my legacy will go on as the greatest MMA fight[er] ever. End of story."
Naturally, the statement itself, which is dismissive of Aspinall's accomplishments and the threat he poses as an opponent, led to fan speculation that Jones is set on retiring instead of a fight with the Englishman. However, Jones offered a glimmer of hope. If he is to retire, he will first vacate the UFC heavyweight title.
That, however, depends on how his upcoming meeting with how well his upcoming meeting with the UFC goes, where Jones is likely to demand a career-high purse to fight Aspinall.
"I'd probably vacate the belt before officially retiring. Let's see how my meeting with UFC goes."
Aspinall, meanwhile, is waiting in the wings for an opportunity to prove himself against Jones and, as the interim heavyweight champion, unify the division's belts.
Tom Aspinall is already negotiating with the UFC to fight Jon Jones
On a Question and Answer (Q&A) uploaded to his official YouTube page, Tom Aspinall provided fans with insight into various aspects of his life and career. Among them was when his next will take place, with the question specifically mentioning Jon Jones, and the Englishman's answer seemed more hopeful than his rival's.
Aspinall said:
"We're in negotiations right now, is the honest answer. So we don't know when the fight is going to be, but I'll be ready to go whenever. I'm back in the gym now, I'm back in the gym training as always. And I'll be ready to fight when they'll let me now."
Check out Tom Aspinall's answer to a question about fighting Jon Jones (3:45):
Following his successful heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jones implied a willingness to face Aspinall in his post-fight interview but has since back-tracked on his words.