A potential heavyweight unification bout between UFC champion Jon Jones and interim champ Tom Aspinall continues to be one of the biggest fights available in MMA in 2025, however progress to make it has appeared minimal since Jones’ successful title defense over Stipe Miocic in November.
Jones, 37, dispatched the former two-time champion with a third-round knockout in their UFC 309 main event, while Aspinall, 31, sat idle, watching the action unfold with the rest of the world and hoping he’d be next for Jones sooner rather than later. UFC CEO Dana White teased the matchup will “100%” happen soon afterward, but the months since have been concerning. Sources told Uncrowned in February that hopes of the mega-fight happening were beginning to dwindle within Team Aspinall.
Yet when speaking Wednesday on ESPN’s “First Take,” White once again sparked optimism, stating that he expects Jones to return “this summer.” One of Jones’ managers at First Round Management, Malki Kawa, responded to the comments on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Wednesday.
“Let me just put it to you like this: We sit in negotiations all day long and we talk about things all day long, right?” Kawa said. “I think that everybody that’s involved in anything to do with any of this stuff wants all these fights to happen. Right? I’ll just leave it at that.
“I think that [Jones vs. Aspinall happening] depends on certain things, and whether or not everybody wants to make those certain things happen. And if the answer to everybody else is yes, and those certain things happen, then yes, the fight will happen. That’s all I’ll say to that.”
Without directly saying it, Kawa appeared to echo Jones’ sentiments after his Miocic win. The champion outright stated that it will take “f*** you money” to get him to fight Aspinall for his second title defense. Prior to UFC 309, Jones made it abundantly clear how little interest he had in the surging Brit as an opponent, and that he instead preferred fighting current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Aspinall, 31, spoke this week on his YouTube channel regarding the situation, reiterating that the hold-up for his UFC return hinges solely on Jones. He’s glad to compete against any heavyweight for his next time out — as long as it’s for the undisputed title.
“I’ve been staying away from the media talking about Jon Jones a lot because, in all honesty, I’m sick of talking about it myself,” Aspinall said. “Where we’re at right now is, I have spoke to the UFC multiple occasions about this fight. I’m chasing up. I want the fight. I’ve been on record and said I want the fight. I’ve been on the phone with the UFC saying, ‘I want the fight, when’s it happening?’ I want the fight more than anyone.
“What is holding it up right now is his side. That’s the truth of it. The UFC really, really wants the fight to happen. They’ve told me that. As I’ve said, this is one of the biggest fights that could be made in MMA right now. Everybody knows that. It’s just, does he want to put himself in a position where he’s comfortable financially to take the risk that he’s taking to fight me? And that is where we’re at.”
Since Aspinall won the interim title in November 2023, he’s fought once, successfully defending the belt with a 60-second knockout of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 this past July.
