Two Worlds Collide: Jones vs. Aspinall

Since Jon Jones first UFC fight in 2008, nobody has been able to take him down and claim the title of “world's best heavyweight fighter”. Even his only loss against Matt Hamill was only because he threw illegal downward elbows. Every few years there is a new shiny toy in the heavyweight division that will be the one to take Bones down. From Daniel Cormier in 2015 to Stipe Miocic in 2024, everyone seems to fall just a bit short. 

This is where Tom Aspinall hopes to be different from the others. Standing at 6’5” and weighing in at over 250 pounds, it is dumbfounding how quickly he moves around the octagon. Given his strong Jiu-Jitsu background mixed with his former catch boxing experience, he has gained the record for the shortest average cage tie per fight in UFC history. These are some of the contributing factors as to why so many people think Aspinall could be the one to strip Jon’s championship belt from him.

But will the fight ever happen? Since Tom has climbed the ranks, he has made it well known that he really respects what Jon Jones has built, but thinks he has gotten what it takes to beat him in a head-to-head bout. Jon doesn’t seem too keen about the matchup, but Dana White has been open about how Jon isn’t afraid of any fighter and will take this fight as long as the paycheck is worth his while; potentially hinting to the fact that he knows it will be one of the tougher opponents he will face in his career. Nonetheless, it would be far and away one of the biggest UFC heavyweight championship fights of all time. It seems that the only chance of it happening would be in the upcoming calendar year, so for now, we only can wait and see if Jones gets a contract  big enough for him to officially lock in this fight.

Liam Crowley

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