Tom Aspinall officially moving on from Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic fights: “It’s not happening”

By Josh Evanoff - February 13, 2024

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is moving on from Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

Tom Aspinall

The British fighter is fresh off a first-round knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich in November at UFC 295. Tom Aspinall famously stepped in on two weeks’ notice to face the Russian, after Jon Jones suffered an injury. As a result, his scheduled title defense with Stipe Miocic was scrapped.

With Jon Jones on the sidelines healing from a pec injury, the newly crowned interim champion called to fight Stipe Miocic. Dana White seemingly liked the sound of that matchup and attempted to book it for UFC 300 in April. However, as Tom Aspinall later revealed, Miocic turned down the fight.

With that, Tom Aspinall continued to call out Jon Jones. However, with ‘Bones’ still healing and uncommitted to the matchup, the British fighter is now moving on. Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Tom Aspinall discussed his future.

There, the interim heavyweight champion admitted that he’s done focusing on Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. In the interview, Tom Aspinall opined that he’s too dangerous of a matchup for the two legends. With that in mind, he’s not going to try and change their minds.

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Michael Bisping, Tom Aspinall

Image from the UFC

Interim UFC champion Tom Aspinall moving on from Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic bouts

“Well you know I did a bit of online crying,” Tom Aspinall joked on The MMA Hour when asked about his failed callouts of Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. “A lot of people are on my side, of course. I’ve openly said that I don’t think the thing that’s going on with Jon Jones is right. I don’t think that the UFC’s decision is right, but that’s just my opinion.”

He continued, “I stated my opinion, I respect their opinion, I respect their decision, I respect everything that Jon Jones and the UFC have done and are doing. A lot of people told me online ‘Tom you need to stop crying’, and I do need to stop f*cking crying about it. They’re right. I do need to stop crying, I need to move forward with it and with my career to prove that I’m the best. That’s what I intend on doing.”

“…Let’s be honest, none of them two are going to fight me, and that’s okay.” Tom Aspinall concluded his thoughts on Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. “Like, I’m at peace with it, if that’s not what they want to do… I would love to get the opportunity to fight them, but if it’s not happening, it’s not happening. The crying’s over.”

While Tom Aspinall is moving on from Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, ‘Bones’ did speak about the matchup this week. In a recent interview, the UFC heavyweight champion stated that he won’t rule out a future bout with Aspinall. However, he first needs to fight Miocic upon his return.

What do you make of these comments from Tom Aspinall? Are you disappointed by this news?