“More title defenses than any other current male champion combined.” That’s the small flex that Jon Jones made to seemingly agitate Magomed Ankalaev. The Russian light heavyweight became the new divisional champion after defeating Alex Pereira at UFC 313. Now, it was time for Ankalaev to shine. And the Russian champion did so by lashing back at the heavyweight champion. 

It was pretty clear to the fighting community that Jones wanted a fight against ‘Poatan’. The duo even talked it out on social media, leaving the fans fantasizing about the superfight. But now that Pereira dropped the belt to Ankalaev, ‘Bones’ seems to have taken a step back. In the apology video following his unfortunate defeat on Instagram. Taking to the comments section, the heavyweight champion wrote, “Disappointed. I was looking forward to sharing the octagon with you.” But Ankalaev wasn’t ready to give Pereira to Jones just yet. 

Taking to X, Ankalaev dissed ‘Bones’ for running away from Tom Aspinall. Well, Dana White claimed that Jones was ready to go up against the British fighter. But Ankalaev wasn’t ready to believe any of it. In the first tweet, he wrote, “Big Ank 🤝Big Tom.” And in the second one, the light heavyweight champion typed, “Jonny s—oid machine was very disappointed I beat Alex. Please fight big Tom [Aspinall] stop running.”

Dana White has already given the green light for the battle between Jon Jones and Aspinall. Of course, facing Aspinall would further cement Jones’ stance as one of the greatest fighters and if he manages to defeat the British heavyweight, no one could claim that he’s not the greatest fighter of all time. But we can’t avert our eyes from the fact that Aspinall and Jones both wanted a fight against Pereira. Watching him lose was indeed a shocker for them. Let’s see what the interim heavyweight champion had to say about Alex Pereira’s loss. 

Tom Aspinall weighs in on Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 313

Taking to his YouTube channel, Tom Aspinall revealed his thoughts on the main event of UFC 313. While many in the fighting community claimed that it wasn’t a good fight, Aspinall enjoyed it till the end. But do you know what was the reason for Ankalaev’s victory? Aspinall said, “The key to winning for Ankalaev, in my opinion, he wanted it more, pressure; he looked the fresher man, mixing in the takedowns and the striking beautifully. I wasn’t sure if he’d do that, to be honest.”

The British heavyweight confirmed that Pereira’s reign in the light heavyweight division was over. However, an immediate rematch should be the next big thing for the LHW division. That’s what Aspinall believed. He pointed out that ‘Poatan’ was a massive star in the realm of mixed martial arts. Yet, he lost the title to Ankalaev. And a rematch would prove if the Russian champion really deserved the championship belt or not. Aspinall said, “Alex Pereira is a massive, massive, massive star in the sport of MMA. Massive. Lost his title, but the run that he’s been on has warranted an immediate rematch, in my opinion.”

But first, we might get to witness the war between Jones and Aspinall. After all, the UFC head honcho confirmed that the fight would go down in Summer 2025. And maybe after that, the UFC boss could agree to a superfight between Jones and ‘Poatan’. But for now, we shall wait for ‘Bones’ to make his move against Ankalaev. 

What do you think of Ankalaev’s diss for Jones? Do you think the fight against Apsinall is absolutely necessary for Jones to cement his legacy? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.