Tom Aspinall thinks Jon Jones wouldn’t have taken Alex Pereira’s UFC 313 loss to Magomed Ankalaev well. In fact, the interim UFC heavyweight champion has a hilarious take on what the New Mexico native’s reaction to the Pereira loss would have been.

“Mate you know that Jon’s phone got whizzed across the room on Saturday night,” a delighted and laughing Aspinall told Adam Catterall in a recent interview. “He was there ready to tweet and [went] ‘Ohhhh!’ [after Alex Pereira’s loss], head in his hands and everything.

Aspinall, of course, is suggesting that the ‘undisputed’ heavyweight champion was so incensed to see Pereira lose a unanimous decision to ‘Big Ank’ that he threw his phone across the room, and then proceeded to put his head in his hands in resignation and despair. Jones, as you well know, is in the market for his last-ever opponent. And Alex ‘smaller-than-Jones, no-grappling’ Pereira, who is the biggest active superstar in the promotion would have been a perfect last opponent for ‘Bones’.

But with Ankalaev frustrating ‘Poatan’ to a decision loss, those plans were dashed. And the Englishman couldn’t be happier. However, the interim champ was quick to clarify that he wasn’t actually elated at Alex Pereira losing, he was just happy Jones had no one else to fight but him.

“In all honesty, I never ever celebrate anybody‘s loss. That really isn’t my style, like, I’m a Alex Pereira fan I love his style, love the run he’s been on, I really respect where he’s come from and everything like that. But it couldn’t have happened at a better time for me personally,” he added.

Aspinall, of course, is a nightmare matchup for ‘Bones’. The natural heavyweight has an inherent size and strength advantage over the undisputed champ. Not to mention Aspinall is the same type of remarkably well-rounded generational talent as Jones. As if that wasn’t enough, the Englishman is younger, hungrier, and a devastating knockout artist. So you could see why Jones wanted to fight Pereira over Aspinall.

Jon Jones faces the most important decision of his life after Alex Pereira’s UFC 313 loss

“I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him,” Aspinall declared late last year. What he meant by that provocative statement is that Jones will never actually agree to fight him, and would choose to retire instead. So will he? With the Pereira table off the table, will ‘Bones’ really choose to hang it up rather than face Aspinall?

Maybe. Or maybe he will do something much more sinister. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani had claimed on his ‘MMA Hour’ show that Jones wants six months to prepare for Tom Aspinall. Many fans feel this is just ‘Bones’ trying to play for time. Some even feel that the Jones may even be planning on dragging things out for six months, pull out of the fight at the last moment, and retire citing an injury.

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But that is perhaps too harsh an assessment, even for Jones. No. But asking for six months to prepare for Aspinall does inject a lot of uncertainty into the division. Aspinall has been clear. He wants to remain active! Will the interim champion agree to sit out six months and wait for ‘Bones’? Probably.

But a lot could happen in six months. Maybe Jones really does get injured. Maybe Aspinall gets injured. Or Aspinall takes another fight in the meantime and loses, and so on. What do you think about Tom Aspinall’s comments about Jon Jones’ reaction to Alex Pereira’s loss?