UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones responded to Tom Aspinall‘s repeated callouts on social media, dismissing his challenges and stating that he only recognizes four names on Aspinall’s resume.
Jon Jones, fresh from elbow surgery, didn’t waste any time. He fired back at Tom Aspinall’s repeated social media callouts.
Jones is the reigning UFC heavyweight champ. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle last year, delaying his fight with Stipe Miocic. He’s likely to return this summer. But, Aspinall’s been making him the center of attention lately.
Aspinall claimed the interim UFC heavyweight title during Jones’ absence. He’s been loudly calling for a title unification bout. He’s not interested in rebooking the fight with Miocic.
Aspinall’s latest jab was a TikTok video. He showed he’d wait decades for the Jones fight. This caught the attention of UFC CEO Dana White’s “greatest of all-time.”
Jones responded in a now-deleted Instagram post. “I recognize only four of these names on your resume,” he wrote. “Launching TikTok attacks while I’m over here on the injury list is just whack. You get no points for that where I’m from.”
Jones continued on Twitter. “Only four recognizable opponents, and already the king of England, must be nice,” he wrote. “There will be legendary tales told about you and your infamous call outs.”
Jones also scoffed at Aspinall’s supposed frustration. Aspinall will have to wait for a chance to unify the titles. Miocic is getting the next shot at the undisputed champion.
“I mean, it doesn’t really work like that,” Jones said. “I was a champion when I was 23 years old, you can’t show up at age 30 pretending like you’ve been chasing me your whole life. I have no clue who 90% of his résumé is, meanwhile, I’ve been highlighting UFC events my entire career.”
Jones’ response is his first direct address to Aspinall. Aspinall was booked in a short-notice interim title fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 this past November. This was largely to fill the void left by Jones and Miocic.
At the time, Aspinall was on a one-fight win streak. He’d returned from his only UFC loss, which happened after a torn ACL during a showdown with Curtis Blaydes.
After knocking Pavlovich out to win the interim belt, Aspinall expressed his desire to clash with Jones one day. His rhetoric has ramped up recently. He got a response from Miocic, who told him he never caused a delay in booking the Jones fight. But, he said, “once I get this win, let’s talk to unify the belt.”
Despite Aspinall’s calls to skip over Miocic to face Jones next, White has repeatedly stated that he has no desire to alter the UFC’s plans. Jones will still face Miocic once he’s healthy again. Aspinall could potentially stay busy against a different opponent.
At least Aspinall knows he got Jones’ attention. But, he probably didn’t get the response he wanted.
Update: Aspinall responded to Jones Tuesday morning.