Aspinall played this all wrong

[JoeRowe]

I see everyone shitting on Jon & the UFC, which isn't wrong, but everyone is completely letting Tom off the hook.

Instead of begging Jon & trying to lure him into a fight via provocation, he should've stayed active. Last July after winning Tom stated he wouldn't defend his Interim belt anymore. Instead of calling out Jon he should've pretended Jon didn't exist, proclaimed himself as the champ, & called out Gane for December. Then he could've fought Jailton in June, beat them both and have his own legacy created. Or taken out Pereira while his star was peaking.

Instead he wasted part of his prime in a similar manner to Chandler, although Chandler's prime was already gone by the time he waited for Conor.

The UFC is contractually obligated to offer Tom fights, so no they couldn't have willingly kept him on the sideline. It was Tom's choice to wait for Jon and it was a stupid choice.

Tom played himself unless by some miracle the UFC throw $25-$30M at Jon and Jon actually accepts it.

 

[shunyata]

He had no cards!

Did he even say thank you?

 

[RockyLockridge]

I see everyone shitting on Jon & the UFC, which isn't wrong, but everyone is completely letting Tom off the hook.

Instead of begging Jon & trying to lure him into a fight via provocation, he should've stayed active.

People dont get it, but it's true, making yourself the draw is how to attract jones. If francis came back, jones would be all over it because it's a bigger drawing fight than stipe, and when they first booked stipe vs jones, it was a bigger drawing fight than tom.

 

[TimeToTrain]

Tom played his cards right. He did not look like a duck, a fool for talking all that jibberish and not backing it up, and declining $30M just to show up. And the most important part, he did not lose his “legacy” whereas someone else lost all the credibility. Actually, that someone else lost all credibility since getting caught for PEDs not only once but twice. And his fans will continue to stay hugging onto his nuts.

 

[jeff7b9]

He made the GOAT of the sport look like he was scared to fight Tom and has been the focal point of the mma dialogue for 2 years, he will get the undisputed belt and retire Jon and he did it all from a cell phone, without injury, without risk.

He played his cards fine.
He didn't even have any fucking cards and he is taking home the pot.

 

[whocares]

The only thing Tom did wrong was not directly call Jones a pussy to his face publicly from the get go. Aside from that, he didn't have any cards to play. This isn't his rodeo, he's just a spectator like the rest of us.

 

[WildShrimper]

Chandler wasn't an interim champion, what's the point of being an interim champion if you're just gonna fight everyone for no undisputed belt? Don't blame the victim.

 

[Mammothman]

I agree, he should have at least taken a fight, he is wasting his prime years doing dumb shit on the internet.

People can say all they want about Jones not fighting him but at the end of the day, Jones never lost to him which is what really matters.

Jones career survived a lot, not fighting Tom doesn't come close to his worst sins.

 

[prime_lobov]

Yeah he should have been active this whole time. HW division is garbage. If Tom is as good as his fanbase claims, he wouldn’t even break a sweat against any current heavyweight. He should be building an insane win streak and his legacy.

 

[Fergelmince]

Hasn't he set the record for longest interim title reign? People will be talking about that for hundreds of years.

 

[Alpha_T83]

I agree, but I think the UFC is still to blame.

I think Aspinall has been asking to fight Gane/Volkov or someone else, to defend his interim title. And I think Dana has been telling him "sit tight and wait".

 

[nonoob]

Maybe Tom didn't act perfectly in the ufc HW Division...​

but seriously, who could when comparing Dana's masterpiece performance in awarding that fake AF Gift of Gane championship "belt" to the cheating coward Jon Jones?

 

[TempleoftheDog]

BULLSHIT!

Jones was NEVER going to fight Aspinall.

Jones fans once again showing they are the scum of the Earth.

 

[Michael Wetzel]

Even worse for Aspinall was that if Alex had beaten Ankalev he would probably have jumped over him for the Jones match.

 

[Shaolin Alan]

Aspinall fumbled the bag!!

Edit: I was not expecting a "just leave Brittany alone!!" Aspinall victim thread

 

[188912345]

Victim blaming occurs when a victim of abuse, harm, or injustice is held responsible, either partially or entirely, for the actions of their abuser or the circumstances they were subjected to.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Not sure, this might've just launched Balloonhead's YouTube career!

 

[nonoob]

Thread '[ Unofficial ] Jones vs Aspinall Situation (timeline)'

May 19, 2025

TLDR;
- Jones wants $30-50M + PPV points to fight Tom
- UFC don't have that kind of money (they do) but they want more funding
- Dana is telling Jon (and also Tom) to wait for a bit, they will get the deal done (Netflix or Turki money)
- Jon and Dana are in a stalemate since Jon doesn't want to retire yet, and Dana wants to guarantee funding
- Dana is figuring out how to get the best business deal done, since many UFC stars kind of "fell off" (Pereira, O'Malley, McGregor), so he is using Jon as leverage for UFC branding to business execs
- Tom is waiting patiently, with little leverage...

• fries in the bag
• Replies: 34
• Forum: UFC Discussion

• 

 

[JoeRowe]

Tom played his cards right. He did not look like a duck, a fool for talking all that jibberish and not backing it up, and declining $30M just to show up. And the most important part, he did not lose his “legacy” whereas someone else lost all the credibility. Actually, that someone else lost all credibility since getting caught for PEDs not only once but twice. And his fans will continue to stay hugging onto his nuts.

You're not wrong about Jon, but that has nothing to do with Tom playing his cards right. He has earned $0 from fighting while in his prime, and his star power, what little he had, lost all momentum.

Sorry but your hatred for Jon doesn't eradicate Tom's foolery.

 

[Captain Herb]

I see everyone shitting on Jon & the UFC, which isn't wrong, but everyone is completely letting Tom off the hook.

Instead of begging Jon & trying to lure him into a fight via provocation, he should've stayed active. Last July after winning Tom stated he wouldn't defend his Interim belt anymore. Instead of calling out Jon he should've pretended Jon didn't exist, proclaimed himself as the champ, & called out Gane for December. Then he could've fought Jailton in June, beat them both and have his own legacy created. Or taken out Pereira while his star was peaking.

Instead he wasted part of his prime in a similar manner to Chandler, although Chandler's prime was already gone by the time he waited for Conor.

The UFC is contractually obligated to offer Tom fights, so no they couldn't have willingly kept him on the sideline. It was Tom's choice to wait for Jon and it was a stupid choice.

Tom played himself unless by some miracle the UFC throw $25-$30M at Jon and Jon actually accepts it.

Sounds good but doesn't work in real life. The minute Tom takes a different fight, Jon says, OK, since Tom's ducking me, I'll just fight Alex Pereira in the mean time and then squat on the belt for another 18 months. The only move is to keep the pressure on until he fights or vacates.