Tom Aspinall seriously contests Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

Tom Aspinall questions the legitimacy of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic as a UFC heavyweight title fight.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) defends his belt against Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in the UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) headliner Saturday in Madison Square Garden in New York.

Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) awaits the winner in the title unification fight, except Jones has made it clear he has no interest in fighting Aspinall beyond UFC 309 continues, while Miocic is widely expected to retire.

“For me, this is anything but an undisputed title fight. “This is the most controversial title you can possibly get,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “Because there are two champions and one of the champions, Jon Jones, is avoiding the other champion: me.

“And he chose to fight Stipe, 42, who has had a fantastic career – both guys have had fantastic careers, great legacies. But let’s be honest: these are two old guys fighting for and occupying a title, which is a bit strange. No one I can see gives a damn about this fight.”

Jones’ attitude towards Aspinall hasn’t changed and he doesn’t seem to care what people think about him not wanting the fight. Jones addressed Aspinall in several interviews and dismissed his CV, saying that, unlike him, he had not beaten any champions.

Aspinall responded to Jones’ comments.

“This ducking and diving is something I have no real respect for,” Aspinall said. “And of course what Jon Jones said to the media this week was pretty interesting and I’m sure there’s more to come.

“So Jon said I need to fight more champions, but this is the problem I have: Jon is the champion and he won’t fight me. He says he won’t fight me because it’s too much of a risk. Jon, if you don’t want to risk your legacy, it sounds to me like you’re afraid of losing to me.”

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC 309 event hub.