Do you believe Jon Jones is obligated to fight Tom Aspinall?

[Alpha_T83]

Nobody is saying he need to fight Aspinall in a month. He just needs to DECIDE what he's gonna do and sign a contract.

I disagree.

Even if fighters are allowed 12+ months before being stripped, I don't think they should be allowed 2x 12 month stretches in a row. Jon Jones already had a 1.5 year stretch without a title defense. He should be legally obligated to have a 6 month turnaround after that.

 

[Ares Black]

Obligated? No, he can retire whenever he wants.


But if he fights again it needs to be Aspinall or he will forever be remembered as a duck, in addition to all the other shit he has done.

 

[Luffy]

You understand that while he mentions the issues with his diet in the interview, he does NOT one time claim it's the reason (or even A reason) the fight hasn't been made, right? You try to spin it like that's what Tom said but it's bullshit.

He said the reason is due to the UFC. Full stop. He wants the fight, and the UFC doesn't want him to fight someone else. Read that again, SLOWLY: the UFC does NOT want Aspinall to fight someone else. They have not offered him an alternate opponent.

So the reason the fight hasn't been made has nothing to do with what Tom's talking about with his diet. And you can certainly say it's not Jones fault either because he's just using the leverage that the UFC seems to be granting him. I'd honestly agree with that. We know what Jones is. What he's doing should be a surprise to nobody. The problem is with the UFC and them ALLOWING him to hold things up.

Except he also said that he agreed the waiting is better for him financially, plus, in that interview, he also said that waiting has favored him because he can do a check up and get to the bottom of his illness that were happening more often... Watch the video, he says all of this. So no, it's not JJ. And yes, it also has to do with the problem regarding his diet implying he is consuming in a daily basis the same amount of calories that he'd burn if he didn't do anything and just laid down for 24h... And then he said he'll need a time to check this diet stuff, be more conscious on to do it the right way. And while it doesn't prove anything regarding PEDs, it's certainly eye opening to some extent, as a 58.2 kilo of only muscle (not other fluids) in a 115.5kg weight weighed first time in the morning all while ingesting half the amount of calories he would burn in a training day? How is that possible?

 

[Luffy]

That's not really how it works with UFC contracts though. I guess it's fine to say he's "ethically" free to fight someone else for less $, but the UFC is under no obligation (contractually or ethically) to have it be for the championship. They can strip any champion at any time for any reason. This isn't "dumbing down", it's simply how this organization is run. Theoretically if he wants to vacate and pursue a non title fight with someone else I suppose he could. But most of us would be shocked if he did that for numerous obvious reasons.

So far, they've given Jones all the time he wants to decide...but make no mistake the decision does NOT include the choice of "defend the belt again vs someone other than Aspinall". Not for less money, not how it works. And quite frankly it's bizarre that I'd need to explain this. And while they've been more than patient, he's not gonna have a ton more time before they decide for him. So he will need to choose: Vacate or Aspinall.

Or... Aspinall will be striped. Dunno. But it's a talk among insiders in the UFC. You'd be surprised if this happened, I'm just saying... You're looking at this not knowing nearly anything that is actually going on and you may be disappointed.

 

[Armlocks4U]

This ain't boxing.

The UFC is responsible for the situation, and has let it go on past the point of absurdity.

If they're not going to pay Jones what he wants, they should just strip him and move on.

Are we supposed to wait till Jon prices himself out of the fight?

 

[Thy]

No he is not whatsoever. Thinking it’s on him to vacate and not the UFC in any part is retarded

calm down, and no need for insults. i just want an active champ so we actually see fights.

 

[fzoid4454]

Nobody is saying he need to fight Aspinall in a month. He just needs to DECIDE what he's gonna do and sign a contract.

It's not that. It the whole "he's holding up the division because he's inactive" nonsense. He tore a pectoral. Everyone wanted the Stipe fight to happen sooner. Training injuries are part of the sport. It's not like he pulled a Conor McGregor.

It's also not just Jones involved. It's a negotiation between the champ, who DOES have a say in the matter and the promotion, who has to pay the fighters their fair share of generating the excitement that generates the revenue.

It's perfectly normal for a fight to take several months to come together.

 

[Ian]

Bones is obligated to fight the interim champ or retire. I don’t hate on him for the Stipe fight. The criticism wouldn’t have been as bad if it wasn’t delayed due to injury. The Tom fight is intriguing but I hate how he campaigned for it and found him annoying.

 

[Crash Lance]

Or... Aspinall will be striped. Dunno. But it's a talk among insiders in the UFC. You'd be surprised if this happened, I'm just saying... You're looking at this not knowing nearly anything that is actually going on and you may be disappointed.

I can't believe that anyone in this thread would even imagine that they would strip Tom Aspinall of his INTERIM UFC Heavyweight Championship.

If anyone should be stripped, it should be Jones. I've been saying this for many months now.

 

[fzoid4454]

That's not really how it works with UFC contracts though. I guess it's fine to say he's "ethically" free to fight someone else for less $, but the UFC is under no obligation (contractually or ethically) to have it be for the championship. They can strip any champion at any time for any reason. This isn't "dumbing down", it's simply how this organization is run. Theoretically if he wants to vacate and pursue a non title fight with someone else I suppose he could. But most of us would be shocked if he did that for numerous obvious reasons.

So far, they've given Jones all the time he wants to decide...but make no mistake the decision does NOT include the choice of "defend the belt again vs someone other than Aspinall". Not for less money, not how it works. And quite frankly it's bizarre that I'd need to explain this. And while they've been more than patient, he's not gonna have a ton more time before they decide for him. So he will need to choose: Vacate or Aspinall.

That's not how the UFC works with standard "will be fighting anywhere on the card" contracts. It absolutely is when dealing with a champion and the top of a PPV card.

I'm talking about if the money isn't right for the Aspinall fight, but he's willing to fight another contender, does the UFC just walk away from him? Is Aspinall a legitimate champ if the UFC balks on paying championship rates, and then just takes the belt from Jones and hands it to him?

It absolutely IS "dumbing it down." Sure, they have the power to do whatever the fuck they want. They have no credibility as a sports sanctioning body if they do. They're the pinnacle of the sport. Part of that is acting like a professional organization.

They haven't "given Jones all the time he he wants" - because if there's not an acceptable offer on the table, then you can just as easily say Jones has given them all the time they want to make a legit offer.

Like I said, that take is entirely dumbing it down and pretending that everything is from some cookie cutter template where it's just "yes or no."

You have no idea what kind of an offer the UFC has or hasn't made. Unless the fight happens, you never will, because Dana notoriously lies about it. You have no idea what Jones is or isn't demanding.

So you can't make any kind of assessment of whether the time it's taking is "enough" or not.

Unless you want to completely dumb it down.

 

[fzoid4454]

I can't believe that anyone in this thread would even imagine that they would strip Tom Aspinall of his INTERIM UFC Heavyweight Championship.

If anyone should be stripped, it should be Jones. I've been saying this for many months now.

Jones fought in November. Aspinall hasn't fought since July.

No one should get stripped any time soon.

 

[Luffy]

It's not that. It the whole "he's holding up the division because he's inactive" nonsense. He tore a pectoral. Everyone wanted the Stipe fight to happen sooner. Training injuries are part of the sport. It's not like he pulled a Conor McGregor.

It's also not just Jones involved. It's a negotiation between the champ, who DOES have a say in the matter and the promotion, who has to pay the fighters they're fair share of generating the excitement that generates the revenue.

It's perfectly normal for a fight to take several months to come together.

Exactly this. Ppl are just bitching like crazy about this...

... All while ignoring Tom's last video, in which he said that waiting benefits him financially and also, is a good choice due to current healthy issues he is undergoing. But people will conveniently ignore that.

But just for the record, JJ isn't holding it, Tom knows it and it's a negotiation, with complicated issues and many things going on. Tom said in the video that isn't JJ, and that he's also going through a complicated problem with blood tests and a body scam he made recently. And he said he'll need to get a healthy fuel and be careful of his health.

 

[italiamusica]

If you want a legit sport, he either needs to fight Tom or drop the title, that's it. Interim champ is there to fight the champ, if the champ is going to be a cunt and make this take forever then they need a slap of reality to the face and get stripped of champ status. Jon is just being a douche bag at this point, hoping Aspinall takes a fight with someone else and then he'll come back and say he's ready to fight a can.

 

[Crash Lance]

Jones fought in November. Aspinall hasn't fought since July.

No one should get stripped any time soon.

You're not serious, are you? I can't imagine that any of your posts are serious.

Tom Aspinall won MMA fights on July 27, 2024. In my opinion, the only reason that this MMA fight happened is because Jones was (and still is) escaping from Tom Aspinall.

Today is April 28, 2025. Jones is avoiding Tom Aspinall at this exact second (as I'm typing this message).

No more distractions. Distractions are what I call these MMA fights that Tom Aspinall is accepting.

In my opinion, every time that Tom Aspinall accepts these MMA fights (which are distractions), Tom is doing gargantuan favors for Dana White and the rest of the UFC.

No more granting favors. No more distractions.

No more of Tom being a company man (which he is). No more doing favors.

No more of being a loyal employee (which he is). Tom Aspinall absolutely needs to demand MMA fights against Jones and/or Tom Aspinall absolutely needs to demand MMA fights that are for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight World Championship.

No more settling. No more compromise.

Tom Aspinall will be mixing it up for the UNDISPUTED UFC Heavyweight World Championship (and only the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight World Championship) and that's that. End of paragraph. End of story.

Otherwise, Tom Aspinall straight-up won't have any more MMA fights. End of sentence. End of story.

Simple as that.



@italiamusica

@mkess101

 

[mkess101]

Except he also said that he agreed the waiting is better for him financially, plus, in that interview, he also said that waiting has favored him because he can do a check up and get to the bottom of his illness that were happening more often... Watch the video, he says all of this. So no, it's not JJ. And yes, it also has to do with the problem regarding his diet implying he is consuming in a daily basis the same amount of calories that he'd burn if he didn't do anything and just laid down for 24h... And then he said he'll need a time to check this diet stuff, be more conscious on to do it the right way. And while it doesn't prove anything regarding PEDs, it's certainly eye opening to some extent, as a 58.2 kilo of only muscle (not other fluids) in a 115.5kg weight weighed first time in the morning all while ingesting half the amount of calories he would burn in a training day? How is that possible?

No, you're full of shit. He NEVER says any of that is the REASON the fight isn't signed. Stop making up lies FFS. He literally says, at the beginning, it's BECAUSE OF THE UFC.

The waiting is better financially IF Jones agrees to the fight vs Aspinall fighting someone else. But he hasn't even been offered anyone else.

You take something he's talking about and then slide in "derp and this is why the fight hasn't been signed" and think you won't be caught making shit up. Maybe stop doing shit like this?

 

[mkess101]

Or... Aspinall will be striped. Dunno. But it's a talk among insiders in the UFC. You'd be surprised if this happened, I'm just saying... You're looking at this not knowing nearly anything that is actually going on and you may be disappointed.

Why would they strip the guy who's ready to sign and has been to unify? They aren't gonna strip the interim champ who's willing to unify so that the champ can fight someone else LMAO. Even the UFC has SOME parameters they wont cross as they want to mostly be viewed as a legit sports organization and not a clown show.

 

[Luffy]

No, you're full of shit. He NEVER says any of that is the REASON the fight isn't signed. Stop making up lies FFS. He literally says, at the beginning, it's BECAUSE OF THE UFC.

The waiting is better financially IF Jones agrees to the fight vs Aspinall fighting someone else. But he hasn't even been offered anyone else.

You take something he's talking about and then slide in "derp and this is why the fight hasn't been signed" and think you won't be caught making shit up. Maybe stop doing shit like this?

No, he said that is the FIRST reason. Not the ONLY reason. Then, he said it is better financially... Period. Hasn't ever said about JJ accepting it. And then he went on his health problems and body scan detecting an inconsistency and problem/issue with his quick metabolism, low calories intake in comparison to how much it'd be needed to maintain that type of body, therein complementing by saying that the lack of any fighting in this period was good for him to be mindful of his healthy and do the diet and stuff in the right way. If you don't know how to watch a long video properly, it's not my fault.

 

[Luffy]

Why would they strip the guy who's ready to sign and has been to unify? They aren't gonna strip the interim champ who's willing to unify so that the champ can fight someone else LMAO. Even the UFC has SOME parameters they wont cross as they want to mostly be viewed as a legit sports organization and not a clown show.

Who knows? That's what it's been speculated by ppl from the organization. I don't know, what I know is we know little of what is actually happening...

 

[mkess101]

That's not how the UFC works with standard "will be fighting anywhere on the card" contracts. It absolutely is when dealing with a champion and the top of a PPV card.

I'm talking about if the money isn't right for the Aspinall fight, but he's willing to fight another contender, does the UFC just walk away from him? Is Aspinall a legitimate champ if the UFC balks on paying championship rates, and then just takes the belt from Jones and hands it to him?

It absolutely IS "dumbing it down." Sure, they have the power to do whatever the fuck they want. They have no credibility as a sports sanctioning body if they do. They're the pinnacle of the sport. Part of that is acting like a professional organization.

They haven't "given Jones all the time he he wants" - because if there's not an acceptable offer on the table, then you can just as easily say Jones has given them all the time they want to make a legit offer.

Like I said, that take is entirely dumbing it down and pretending that everything is from some cookie cutter template where it's just "yes or no."

You have no idea what kind of an offer the UFC has or hasn't made. Unless the fight happens, you never will, because Dana notoriously lies about it. You have no idea what Jones is or isn't demanding.

So you can't make any kind of assessment of whether the time it's taking is "enough" or not.

Unless you want to completely dumb it down.

Buddy, what you seem to not understand apparently is that they lose MORE credibility if they don't figure out how to get Jones to fight Aspinall but then allow him to defend vs someone else. So quite frankly, YES, the UFC will just "walk away" from him. They don't have years and years of Jones headlining ppv cards left, and even if they did they have made it abundantly clear over the years that NO fighter is bigger than the brand. Not even Conor who blew Jones away in terms of leverage and drawing power. They let their undisputed HW champ walk over money. They aren't gonna sacrifice the integrity of the division for years and years to appease Jones for one fight where he "isn't getting paid enough to fight the interim champ but will take a bit less to defend vs a lesser guy". That just isn't gonna happen.

But I'll tell ya what: if somehow they jump someone over Aspinall for the next title shot vs Jones and it's due to money and not injury or something like that, I'll fully admit how wrong I was. But it's not gonna happen because I live in reality.

 

[mkess101]

Who knows? That's what it's been speculated by ppl from the organization. I don't know, what I know is we know little of what is actually happening...

Who? What insider sources are saying they're gonna strip Aspinall and jump someone else over him for the next title fight vs Jones. Do tell about this speculation from "people in the org". Because it sounds like you are completely full of shit. Please enlighten us as to who would fight Jones next for the belt.

Are you addicted to fabricating shit? Hey, I can do that too!

According to random "UFC people", there's speculation that Jon Jones is gonna leave the UFC to focus on his career as a drag queen. I mean, who knows? It's just "speculation" after all!