Anticipating the Biggest Fight in UFC History: Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall
The UFC is on the verge of delivering one of the biggest fights ever: Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall. As the final details of the fight are worked on by UFC president Dana White, let’s look at what this fight could mean for the heavyweight division, the UFC, and their respective legacies. Jones is looked at by many as the greatest of all time with an extremely impressive resume behind him, however, some fans have critiqued Jones saying he’s never fought anyone his size or that’s younger than him. This is where we get to Aspinall. Aspinall is one of the best fighters in the UFC, with a record of 15-3, and the current interim champion, he has been calling Jones out for over a year now. Many fans see this as the climax of one of the biggest fights ever.
One of Jones’ strong points is his ability to do everything. Whether it’s wrestling effectively, managing distance, or striking creatively, Jones has done it all. Since his move up to heavyweight, nothing has changed for Jones. In March of 2023, Jones claimed heavyweight gold against Ciryl Gane with a dominant round one submission victory. Jones was then set to face off against, who many people consider the greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November 2023, however, Jones tore his pec three weeks before the fight and was sidelined for a year. During this time was Aspinall’s rise to one of the biggest names in the UFC.
Aspinall was steadily on his rise to the top of the division, with round one finishes over many of the top 10 UFC heavyweights. When the news broke about Jones tearing his pec, the UFC looked for a replacement fight, Aspinall would step in on short notice against Sergei Pavlovich for a chance to win the interim Heavyweight Championship. Which Aspinall would do in just over a minute. From here, Aspinall would try his hardest to convince Jones to fight him, however, Jones still seemed uninterested. Aspinall would defend his interim belt, only the second time ever in UFC history that an interim champion has defended his belt, while Jones remained out with his injury. Aspinall has the shortest fight time in UFC history at two minutes and two seconds, proving he’s a worthy opponent for Jones.
Once Jones came back, he still publicly seemed like the fight between him and Aspinall was a fairytale, going as far as to say he would vacate his belt and go fight someone else, mainly Alex Pereira. However, after the recent loss of Pereira, Jones is only left with one option, to fight Aspinall. Dana White has stated that Jones has now agreed to fight Aspinall and that the only thing they’re waiting for is the date and location. The betting line for this fight is currently, Jones +120 and Aspinall -142. This would be Jones’ first time being an underdog in a fight in over 16 years.
A win for Jones would solidify his legacy. Silencing all the doubters, and adding one more cherry on top of his illustrious career. For Aspinall, this would be the ultimate opportunity to prove he is one of the best in the world. With both men having a lot to lose, this fight has everything in the making to be one of the biggest fights ever.
