UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall had several birthmarks in the inner circle of Jon Jones during the recent Thailand trip of legend.
Tom Aspinall's waiting for a shot at the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Title ended at Bizarre Mode after Jon Jones announced his retirement last weekend. UFC CEO Dana White announced the news at the UFC Baku Post-Fight Press Conference, which was immediately followed by an official announcement by Jones on his social media accounts.
Jones's pension led the UFC to promote Aspinall into undisputed heavyweight champion, and he is expected to return towards the end of the year. The conclusion of the Jones/Aspinall Saga came after months of back and forth speculation about whether the fight would flourish.
But according to Aspinall, he did not have many doubts about the fact that the Jones fight took place, until he heard about Jones's alleged actions during the journey of legend abroad.
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Tom Aspinall: Jon Jones' rumors' behavior 'in Thailand pointed to the doomed UFC collision
Earlier this year, Jones was in Thailand when he would collide with Nate Diaz as coaches of a spin-off of the ultimate hunter with various emerging regional stars. But the show was abruptly canceled after a disputed fight led to Diaz and his team left the set and filming the show.
After the cancellation of the show, Jones remained in Thailand with various members of his inner circle to enjoy some downtime. But according to Aspinall, he spent several people who spent time with Jones in Thailand who gave him insight into the doubtful behavior of Jones in the midst of the current UFC negotiations.
During a recent performance on the Ariel Helwani show, Aspinall was asked when he started to doubt that the Jones would happen.
“A few weeks ago. Everyone seemed to think that Jon was playing this game from 'Let's not think Tom that I will give him the fight, and then I will simply raise it on him'. But the MMA community, at the highest level, is a fairly small world,” Aspinall said.
“And I know people who have been to Thailand, similar times that he was there. And I know people who were around his circle, and I know that from the behavior he does outside the Octagon, he is not going to fight quickly.”
Aspinall was then put under pressure on his mentality while hearing about the rumors of Jones outside the cage.
“I really think I should be one of the easiest people for the UFC to ever work with. And I am not blowing my own trumpet, everything they have told me, I did it. They just told me for a year:” Be ready, stay fit, stay ready for a date and a contract. “
“No vacations, no days off. I take care of my diet, recovery, the sparring, strength and conditioning and learning new techniques. Everything a professional hunter on elite level should do to get ready for a fight. That is all I have done in the last 10 months, or whatever it is. It is a bit of a strange situation, but I can be that it is.”
After the retirement of Jones and the promotion of Aspinall, the heavyweight division of the UFC is ready to continue with a promised high activity level. Aspinall could be confronted with one of Jones' former enemies for his first undisputed heavyweight title defense.
Tom Aspinall's first undisputed defense is said to have been 'set' after the recent comments from Top Contender
Former interim UFC heavyweight title holder Ciryl Gane recently raised eyebrows when he claimed that a collision with Aspinall was in constant negotiations. Gane did not fight in December since a controversial victory over Alexander Volkov on UFC 310.
Aspinall and Gane are linked to various near-books during their UFC official period. But Aspinall accused Gane of rejecting different fighting offers during their career, including before Aspinall secured the interim -heavyweight title of the UFC at UFC 295.
Volkov is another name to keep an eye on while the UFC reflects the first opponent for the heavyweight title of Aspinall. Despite the recent comeback plague of Jones, it seems that the UFC Hall of Famer is not returning quickly or never.