Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall might still be light-years away, but the drama and tension around the potential matchup continue to steal the spotlight. The heavyweight champ is catching serious heat for stalling the unification bout. While the Brit has made it clear, he wants to fight twice this year. Aspinall also believes he’s the rightful champion, not ‘Bones.’ As expected, the backlash toward Jones has erupted on social media, with one fan bluntly stating, “Aspinall is the current HW champ btw.”

The arguably greatest of all time didn’t waste a moment to take a subtle dig at his potential opponent’s past setbacks. Jones responded, “Unfortunately, my boy is not as special as his fan base thinks he is right now. I’ve seen Tom get [finished] twice now by two different people. Time will show. Here today, gone tomorrow.” Shots were definitely fired. But this time, Jones missed a key point, one he eventually circled back to clarify.

Jon Jones corrects himself on Tom Aspinall losing two fights by finish

Tom Aspinall has been steamrolling opponents throughout his career, but he does have three losses on his record. His only UFC loss came against Curtis Blaydes in 2022 after suffering a knee injury just 15 seconds into the fight. He also lost to Łukasz Parobiec via illegal 12-6 elbows—ironically similar to Jon Jones’s lone disqualification loss against Matt Hamill. The third came against Stuart Austin in 2015. ‘Bones’ initially mentioned only two losses, but after fans pointed out the mistake, he offered a correction.

He clarified the oversight with a follow-up tweet, “Appreciate all the folks who corrected me! I said Tom got submitted twice, but turns out it was just once… by a guy everyone calls Cousin Earl. Then he got TKO’d by some other random. Tough to remember who did what when there were multiple people involved.”

Jones did admit he was wrong, but not without slipping in a little mockery aimed at both Aspinall and his past opponent. In his follow-up, he subtly jabbed Blaydes, who technically holds a first-round TKO win over the Brit due to Aspinall’s knee injury. Though the result officially marked a win for ‘Razor,’ the bout ended just seconds in due to Aspinall’s knee injury—hardly a decisive victory. So, the champ’s clarification came with a cheeky diss. 

But that’s not all. It’s almost a pattern now—every time the flood of posts rolls in, and ‘Bones’ rarely lets it slide without reminding fans of his glories. While many have accused him of ducking Tom Aspinall, Jones took the opportunity to draw parallels to a familiar situation. The skepticism before his heavyweight debut. 

Jon Jones dismisses Aspinall’s threat, brings up his win over Ciryl Gane

Many fans believe Jon Jones is avoiding Tom Aspinall out of fear of getting knocked out. An idea even Daniel Cormier has pushed on his YouTube channel. But the reigning heavyweight champ quickly drew a parallel to UFC 285, where he faced similar doubts ahead of his debut against Ciryl Gane. Back then, critics questioned if he could handle the heavyweight division. Jones answered by finishing ‘Bon Gamin’ in just over two minutes. Now, he’s using that same moment to quiet the noise around Aspinall.

Jones wrote on X, “I remember like it was yesterday. Three years since anyone saw me fight. The mass amount of critics “ Jones looks so old now, He’s too slow now. Gane going to be too fast, Jones has never faced someone this big, he’s never faced a kickboxer of this caliber. The French and the casuals were convinced Gane was the future of the heavyweight division.

‘Bones’ definitely has a point. The idea that Aspinall would completely knock him out might be a stretch, though it’s not impossible. Jones looked incredible against Gane and could easily silence doubters again with another stellar performance. He hasn’t retired, and with Aspinall holding the interim title, a showdown remains possible, letting Jones potentially ride off into the sunset with his pride intact.

Do you think Jones is waiting for Aspinall to face Gane before making a move? Drop your take in the comments—we want to hear it.