Tom Aspinall did not give Jon Jones much to analyze at his match during UFC 295. Aspinall, the English fighter, won the interim gold and delivered an impressive performance, knocking out Sergei Pavlovich within 69 seconds in Round 1. This co-main event occurred at Madison Square Garden on a Saturday night. Jones, in response, took to social media to compliment Aspinall’s victory and congratulate him on his interim heavyweight championship belt, commending his exceptional performance.
Despite being a recurring event, Aspinall showed his gratitude for Jones’ praises saying that he appreciates these accolades. A member of Team Kaobon, Aspinall wishes for one more thing from Jones who is best known by his nickname, “Bones”. Aspinall expressed his desire for a dream fight with Jones during a Saturday post-fight press conference. He shares that while it was nice to hear compliments, to hear such words from someone he admires so greatly, like Jones, was even more significant. Aspinall thus requested Jones for the dream fight he has always aspired for and urged him to let the fight happen for the sake of his legacy.
Jones was initially scheduled to face off against Stipe Moicic in the original UFC 295 headliner. However, due to an injury Jones sustained during training, he had to withdraw from the event. Winning an interim belt usually guarantees a title unification match later, but the management still seems determined to set a match between Jones and Miocic in 2024. However, Aspinall does not wish to be left on the bench for a long time but stated his willingness to wait it out if it means getting his dream match up against Jones.
There has been ongoing speculation that Jones might retire after his match with Miocic. Still, Aspinall hopes that his performance might persuade Jones into postponing his retirement for at least one more match. Confident in his abilities, Aspinall likes his chances if they ever do meet in the Octagon. Asserting that if he takes a direct hit to the face, anyone would go down, Aspinall said, “Jon knows that, and that’s no disrespect to Jon, I absolutely love Jon, he’s one of my favourite fighters of all time, I absolutely look up to him. But I want to fight him, and I think I can win.”