UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall believes current titleholder Jon Jones did a smart thing by refusing to hold a stare down with him.
MMA Fighting quotes Aspinall as saying:
I wanted to face off. Jon's smart, you know? ... Jon will not say anywhere - you can't find it, it's not out there - that he will fight me. You can't find a clip, a quote, nothing, anywhere, of Jon Jones saying, 'One day I'm going to fight Tom Aspinall, and I'm going to freaking beat the brakes off him.' He doesn't want any evidence, anywhere, of him agreeing to any kind of fight with me, because he doesn't want to go back on that. He doesn't want to do a faceoff because that promotes a potential fight.
Jones last fought against Ciryl Gane in March 2023 at UFC 285. In that fight, Jon won by submission in the first round. He has 27 wins and one loss on his mixed martial arts record.
Aspinall last entered the octagon against Sergei Pavlovich in November 2023 at UFC 295. Tom won that fight by knockout in the first round and won the UFC interim heavyweight title. He has 14 wins and three losses on his record.