It seems like the fans have been waiting forever to see Jon Jones finally step inside the Octagon against Tom Aspinall and unify the heavyweight belts. Both of them have already created records with their title reigns, but the British star’s longest interim title reign isn’t something he’s proud of. Moreover, Dana White has yet to give us the green signal, which has added to the growing frustration regarding the delay. The only thing that the UFC CEO had to say to the fans was “relax” on Instagram Live.

Meanwhile, the UFC head honcho wasn’t the only one who addressed that issue on Instagram. Jon Jones did, too. The undisputed champion was reportedly in Thailand riding a bike when he decided to go live on Instagram. Of course, fans asked him about the Tom Aspinall fight, calling him out for ‘ducking’, but Jones didn’t really seem to care too much. “I’ve got people in the chat calling me a duck. Meanwhile, I’m living my absolute best life,” the consensus GOAT stated.

But it seems like some of the MMA’s popular personalities have had it with Jon Jones’s antics. Recently, veteran journalist Ariel Helwani weighed in on the situation by first mentioning the Russian version of TUF, which is ALF Global Reality. Claiming that both ‘Bones’ and Nate Diaz are getting paid an “astronomical” amount of money, Helwani believes that it’s pretty deserving, looking at the impact Jones and Diaz have had in the sport.

The only qualm that Helwani has with Jones is the fact that the heavyweight champ refuses to believe that he’s avoiding Tom Aspinall, even though he claims to be living a good life. “Here’s the part that I very much disagree with him. It’s not about you, Jon… If you want to be a part of a reality show, if you want to take that money and delay things and hold someone else’s dream back from becoming a reality, that is ducking,” Helwani stated in his self-titled YouTube show.

He mentioned that the whole situation has nothing to do with Jon Jones‘s journey anymore. Just like the undisputed champion, who’s carved a pretty stellar and one-of-a-kind career for himself, others also have the same dream to get to the very top of this sport, including Tom Aspinall. But Jones has held the heavyweight division hostage, according to Ariel Helwani.

“There is a time-honored tradition in this business, in sport, in combat sports… period. The whole thing has to move along. It’s not about your story… Get rid of that belt,” the veteran journalist added. “Everyone thinks you’ve done enough. You’ve earned enough. You’ve proven enough. Now allow someone else to have that same story… You’re holding him back. You’re holding back not only Tom Aspinall, but the rest of the division.”

Fans may call Jon Jones out for apparently ‘ducking’ Tom Aspinall because the champion himself stated that he doesn’t want to deal with dangerous up-and-comers. But it’s important to note that he’s taken on generations of elite fighters, which makes it a bit strange to see him delaying this fight for too long. Well, Aspinall seems to believe the reason why the fight hasn’t happened.

Tom Aspinall reveals the issue behind the delay of the Jon Jones fight

For context, Tom Aspinall just wants to fight to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, so it’s not like he’s out to get that Jon Jones fight. However, beating the GOAT will be a cherry on top of him potentially winning the undisputed belt. During his recent appearance on the High Performance podcast, Aspinall claimed that Jones “doesn’t want to take the risk” of putting his legacy on the line.

However, that can change. How? Well, Tom Aspinall claims that all the fuss could be related to Jon Jones’s demand for a “f— you money” payout. If that gets settled, the Englishman believes everything could finally fall into place. “I can’t do anything [to make the fight happen]. I think it’s just down to money, I think, on his side. So, I will fight whenever, wherever he wants, but it’s down to money, I think,” the interim champ stated.

Well, Jon Jones is not getting any younger, so he may have to decide on his next move fast. In the meantime, it remains to be seen if Dana White takes the same route as he did for Islam Makhachev and strips him of the title, which is what the fans are calling for. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.