Tom Aspinall is not worried about waiting for a fight with Jon Jones.
Aspinall has been wanting to fight Jones to unify the UFC heavyweight titles. Aspinall, who is ranked No. 1 in the division by MMA Fighting, became the interim champion by defeating Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. This fight happened because Jones` bout with Stipe Miocic was postponed due to a Jones injury.
Jones won the vacant undisputed title at UFC 285 after Francis Ngannou left the promotion and then defended it against Miocic at UFC 309. Aspinall has also defended his interim title once during this time. Jones, a former three-time light heavyweight champion, has often dismissed Aspinall as not being a worthy opponent.
Last Saturday in London, Aspinall and his team met with UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell. Aspinall is now more optimistic after these talks, although it’s not clear if the UFC will book him against Jones or someone else.
“We had a good meal and discussed everything,” Aspinall said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “Hunter has always been very approachable and reasonable with me. I don’t know about others, but he has always been welcoming and great to me and my team. We had a fantastic meeting, everything went great, I now understand my position and what the company is doing. You need to stay tuned because there is big news coming.”
When asked if things were moving in the right direction, Aspinall agreed. He also said he is excited about the future and not concerned about the time since his last fight against Curtis Blaydes in July.
“After the meeting, I feel very optimistic about things,” Aspinall said. “I am in a really good position with everything and my future. It’s an exciting time, really exciting.”
“The break isn`t that long, to be honest. People say ‘Jon Jones is holding up your career,’ but it’s only been seven months, which isn`t too bad. I don’t want to say too much, but there are exciting things coming in the future for sure.”
Although Aspinall didn`t give many details about his conversation with Campbell and didn`t confirm they discussed Jones specifically, he made it clear that he wants to be recognized as the undisputed No. 1 heavyweight in the UFC.
“Of course, I want to fight,” Aspinall said. “But it needs to be the right fight, and as I’ve said before, what I deserve is the undisputed heavyweight title. That’s very important to me. Money and everything else is secondary. I want to be the undisputed heavyweight champion, and I am working towards that.”
“I’m not just sitting at home doing nothing. I am training in the gym every day. … I’m in a good place, a really good place. I would prefer to fight sooner rather than later, but I also believe that everything happens for a reason. So, I’m sure when the time is right, it will be the right time.”
He also confirmed that he does not plan to defend the interim title again.
Regarding Jones publicly asking for a lot of money to fight Aspinall, the British fighter understands this.
“I agree that he deserves every penny he makes because he has earned it,” Aspinall said.
Aspinall was at UFC London and seemed to joke about Jones when he was shown on camera with a toy duck, continuing the joke that Jones is “ducking” a fight with him. Aspinall confirmed the gesture’s meaning.
“No, I just like ducks,” Aspinall said jokingly. “I always carry a little duck with me, just in case. No, of course, it was just a bit of fun, a little joke, as we say. Just a bit of fun, that’s all.”
