MMA
Jon Jones reveals reason why he will not face Tom Aspinall for UFC heavyweight title
Watch UFC 309 live on ESPN+ PPV (US only)
The feud between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and interim titleholder Tom Aspinall has taken a new turn.
Jones will make the first defence of the belt at UFC 309 next weekend against Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden, and if Jones emerges victorious, many will be calling for a fight against Aspinall next.
However, it appears that Jones would rather face a different UFC champion instead of Aspinall, claiming that the British star is not a credible dance partner.
“More than likely not. I feel like Tom Aspinall is, I don’t want to say ‘nobody’, but he just hasn’t proven anything," Jones told Kevin Iole when asked whether he would eventually face Aspinall.
"He hasn’t done anything – I understand that he won his belt against Sergei, Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else.
"So I’m not here to gamble someone else making a name off of me, I’m here to compete against the guys where when we look back 10 years from now, ‘Jon Jones fought this guy, that guy, this legend, this champion…’.”
Jones then named which fighter currently on the UFC roster he would be eager to face next.
"If there were to be a fight of a guy that's still on our UFC roster, that would be not only financially worth it, but legacy worth it. It would be Alex Pereira."
Pereira is the current UFC light heavyweight champion and made a successful of his title last month when he stopped Khalil Rountree at UFC 307.
