Aspinall Claims Jones Fears Losing, Labels Him ‘Unpredictable’

Live text commentary for UFC 309 will be available starting at 03:00 GMT on Sunday, 17 November, via the BBC Sport website and app. Tom Aspinall stated, “I think Jon Jones is scared to lose and I understand why – he’s one of the best to ever do it.” Aspinall continued, “I agree with what Jones said, that if he beat me it would do nothing for his legacy. But I don’t want to fight him for his legacy, I want to fight him for the UFC title. I’m not bothered about his legacy, that’s his business.” Aspinall noted that the current situation, with “everyone asking Jon about me,” was not intended, emphasizing that UFC 309 is “Jon and Stipe Miocic’s fight week.” He attributed the persistent questioning to “the media who keep dragging it in,” observing that Jones “is not happy about it, evidently,” when asked about a potential fight with Aspinall. Aspinall suggested Jones “could have easily killed it for himself. He could have killed the topic of me being the interim champion and just said ‘I’m focusing on Stipe this week’, but he didn’t.” He concluded that Jones “made this about him but it’s not about Jon, it’s about the title.” To illustrate the constant mention of Jones, Aspinall mentioned his father keeps a clicker, tallying every instance Jones’s name is brought up to him. He estimated the count for the week at “Seventy-seven,” clarifying it was “just one click per person, you only get one go.” Regarding a T-shirt he wore featuring his face and the text “‘Hello Jon, I have nothing against you personally, I just think I’m better than ya’,” Aspinall clarified, “I’m just joking. I didn’t want to annoy him, I don’t want to annoy anybody.” He explained that “Charlie, my social media guy,” conceived the idea, which they considered “a cool design” and primarily “taking the mickey out of myself more than anything.” Aspinall commented on cultural differences, noting that “Americans can get offended very easily sometimes, where it’s just standard British humour, isn’t it? You take the mickey out of yourself and other people. But Jon’s got very touchy about it.” Aspinall stated he was “not hoping to bump into Jon this week,” asserting that Jones “honestly doesn’t interest me at all.” He emphasized, “I don’t want to create a beef that isn’t there, I just want the title and that’s all.” Describing his role as a back-up fighter for the main event, Aspinall found it “weird” because he could neither “fully relax” nor “fully be into fight mode.” Despite being “pretty sure that I’m not going to fight,” the possibility “is still in the back of my mind a little bit,” influencing his behavior, such as leaving a meal with friends “pretty early and didn’t drink or eat bad,” unlike his usual habits when not preparing for a fight. He expressed his desire for the scheduled fight to proceed without incident, stating, “I don’t want to fight. I don’t want anyone to get injured. These guys should fight each other and then move on, that’s it.” Aspinall added, “I hope they fight each other, hope it goes well and then we can all move on from it and move forward with the division.” Aspinall observed that Stipe Miocic “is getting overlooked for this bout,” acknowledging “a big narrative that Jon is the greatest of all time that the UFC are pushing, and maybe he is.” However, he asserted that Miocic, despite being “42 and hasn’t fought since the knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in 2021,” “definitely has a chance in the fight.” While noting Miocic “has the power advantage in his hands,” Aspinall believes “Jon is way more athletic, and Jon has more ways to win.” Consequently, he “would give the edge to Jon, but I wouldn’t be surprised either way.” Aspinall stated his uncertainty regarding post-fight outcomes or potential retirements. He remarked that while he doesn’t know Jones personally, “it’s pretty apparent from this week’s antics already that he’s a pretty unpredictable character.” Regardless of the specific circumstances, Aspinall expressed his hope to be “fighting for the heavyweight title.” He emphasized, “It doesn’t matter if I fight Jon, if he relinquishes the belt, if he waits it out for a bit and then we fight, whatever. My focus is just to get the belt. Jon and everybody else are irrelevant.”