Tom Aspinall: 'Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones are not the top of the heavyweight division'

20/08/2024 18:28

Interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall defended his belt at UFC 304 on July 27 finishing Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds.  Champion Jon Jones is expected to fight former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic later this year but Aspinall doesn't understand why that fight is even happening.  

"What the f**k is going on?  What is going on," Aspinall questioned during an appearance on the Believe You Me podcast.  "They want me to be a backup fighter for it but why are you giving a guy who is 42, or however old he is - I have the upmost respect for Stipe and what he's done in his career and Jon Jones on the contrary of what people might think.  I respect those guys more than I can even put into words, but they don't f***ing deserve to be fighting for the heavyweight title.

"Them guys are not the top of the heavyweight division right now.  Dana White and everybody can say whatever they want, them guys are not the best heavyweights in the world right now," Aspinall continued.  "I'm not saying they haven't had amazing careers because I idolize those guys.  I want to have a career like that.  That's what I'm aiming to do with my life is what they've done, but they're not the best right now.  Right now, they're definitely not the best, so let's stop talking all this bullish*t like they are."

Jones was scheduled to defend the heavyweight championship against Miocic at UFC 295 last November, but was forced out of the fight after tearing a pectoral tendon in training.  The fight promotion opted to rebook the matchup.  In the meantime, Aspinall was crowned the interim champion and defended his title.  At the end of the day, Aspinall doesn't think Jones wants to fight him.  

"Jon Jones, he was praying that I would lose that fight against Curtis Blaydes.  Praying that I would because there is nowhere that you can find publicly, nowhere him saying that he would fight me.  It doesn't exists," Aspinall said.  

"Since I won that fight he's gone completely silent, and he'll continue to go completely silent about me until he retires because there's no way on Earth that he's going to fight me," Aspinall continued.  "I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him."