June 6 was a busy day for the heavyweight champion of the UFC after various social media messages from Jon Jones.
The best consensus of all time seemed to be clarified that he would not return to the Octagon after Jones would hit Tom Aspinall's idea.
Aspinall supported Jones's claims when he stated that 'Bones' is already retired and that the UFC will soon make an announcement about the future of the division.
Just when the dust seemed to establish on the heavyweight landscape, another key figure went back into the conversation after comments from Francis Ngannou's coach.
The claim of Eric Nicksick that the former UFC champion would be open for return to the promotion that attracted the attention of Jones, who described a potential matchup between them as a 'really super fight'.
I hear that Francis Ngannou is still interested … Now we are talking. That is a really super fight. A collision of champions, not just hype. He held the UFC -Riem, I have defended mine for more than ten years. Two kings of different roads. Not just one legend with a mouth that is good, good …
– Jonny Meat (@JonnyBoes) 6 June 2025
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Jon Jones responds to fank criticism that he is haunting Francis Ngannou because it is a easier fight than Tom Aspinall
After Jon Jones claimed that a fight with Francis Ngannou would be a matchup in which he is interested in his own legacy, the fans made their opinion very clear.
The answers to the UFC Heavyweight Champion pointed to the fact that although both men were still signed at the UFC, 'Bones' did not seem too interested to make the fight happen.
Some fans even suggested that Jones is more interested in this fight, because Ngannou is an easier opponent for him who has been from the past in the past.
The champion responded to this criticism by claiming that the same negatives that people attach to Ngannou also apply to Tom Aspinall.
Jones has rejected Aspinall's gripping capacity, which suggests that he believes that the interim champion is not as good as people think.
“Your clowns who think would be Francis much easier because of the ground game. Tom also has no ground game. In English, Black Belt is when getting a participation ribbon.”
Your clowns who think, Francis would be much easier because of the ground game. Tom also has no ground game. In English, Black Belt is when getting a participation tint.
– Jonny Meat (@JonnyBoes) 6 June 2025
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In recent years we have only seen a glimpse of Francis Ngannou and Tom Aspinall's Grappling
Francis Ngannou has not been incredibly active in recent years, but we have seen a number of clear improvements in his grasp game by his last few fights.
The former heavyweight champion was dominated by Stipe Miocic in his first UFC defeat, who give up 6 Takedowns, but since that matchup in 2018 he has only been removed once.
He also had a grab success himself, and ciryl Gane and Miocic in the Octagon while he used his wrestling to dominate Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut.
UFC opponents who Francis Ngannou Downeventtakedowns Namur, LandedCiryl GANEUFC 270 – 20221Stipe Miocicufc 220 – 20186anthony Hamiltonufc Fight Night Night Night Night Night 175 – 20162Luis OPE FIGTTIUFC FIGTTUFC
As far as Tom Aspinall is concerned, we have not seen too much of his wrestling, but because his father is a Jiu-Jitsu coach, this is the world where the Brit originally came from.
The interim champion has 4 entries on his record, including victories over Alexander Volkov and Andrei Arlovski.