Tom Aspinall called out by heavyweight submission specialist if fight against Jon Jones doesn't work: "Forget Gane, he ducked you before"
Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is a fight that many hope to see this year, but one of the heavyweight division's top contenders has called out Aspinall in case the title unification bout doesn't get booked. This came to the forefront following a recent video by the UFC interim heavyweight champion, where he discussed some of the division's standout contenders.
One fighter he has yet to fight is Jailton Almeida. Aspinall pointed out that he has fought everyone in the rankings except for three contenders - Jones, Ciryl Gane, and Almeida.
Aspinall has repeatedly said that he is willing to fight any of these contenders if it means competing for the undisputed title, as he believes he deserves this opportunity.
Brazil's Almeida seemed to take note of this. The submission specialist posted an excerpt from Aspinall's YouTube video to X, where he said:
"If the fight against Jones doesn't work, LETS GO Champ! Forget Gane, he ducked you before, he is ducking me now. Besides that, he already lost two times in title fights and his last win was a robbery, let's make ASPINALL VS ALMEIDA for undisputed title @AspinallMMA @danawhite"
Check out Jailton Almeida's X post below:
Jon Jones seemingly sends succinct message to doubters
Jon Jones recently addressed skeptics in a brief social media caption to those who think he may hang up the gloves altogether. Tom Aspinall in a title unification bout or a special attraction contest against current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira seem like options despite no concrete timeline for Jones' octagon return.
The 37-year-old did not get into specifics but posted a recent video to his Instagram page with three words in the caption. The phrase "I'll be back" accompanied this video from Jones, who was spending time at a recent Young LA event. Many fans within the mixed martial arts space took that wording to mean that Jones would return to fighting.
Check out the post below:
While it seems like 'Bones' has more fights left on his contract, there are some who theorize he may hang up his gloves. That said, Dana White has been adamant that the Rochester native would fight Aspinall next in a title unification bout if he were to continue in his pro mixed martial arts career.