- Jones will do battle with Miocic in heavyweight title clash on Saturday night
- He has been backed to face Aspinall after but it seems unlikely that will happen
- The champion has explained why and given two names he would rather face
Jon Jones has named two surprise fighters than he would rather face than Tom Aspinall ahead of UFC 309.
Jones will do battle with Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night for the heavyweight title in a battle that will see two of the best heavyweights of all time go head to head.
It is a fight that was supposed to happen last year, but Jones picked up a pectoral injury and was sidelined for a number of months. The rearranged fight will finally take place this weekend.
While Jones was out, meanwhile, Aspinall won the interim title by defeating Sergei Pavlovich, and then successfully defended it against Curtis Blaydes in July this year.
He would usually be next in line to fight Jones, but, because the bout with Miocic was already arranged, he has had to wait. And Jones, reluctant to do battle with Aspinall, has revealed two other fighters he would rather take on.
Jon Jones (pictured) has named two shock fighters that he would rather face than Tom Aspinall
Aspinall (pictured) versus Jones would usually be up next but Jones threatened to vacate belt
The champion said he would rather face the likes of Jamahal Hill (left) or Derrick Lewis (right)
‘I could see myself after this entertaining super fights only,’ Jones said. ‘If we get a dominant performance, I’m prepared to vacate the heavyweight championship and fight for fun.
‘I want to fight for fun. I don’t necessarily want it to be over, but I just want to fight for fun.
‘I think about one of my team-mates, Donald Cowboy Cerrone. He just fights. Win, lose, or draw, he just fights. I would love to kind of experience that for the first time in my career, just not having this belt to protect. Just fighting guys that I’d stylistically want to fight against.
‘Random fights like Jamahal Hill. I’m at an interesting weight where I can fight light heavyweights or heavyweights. Derrick Lewis, Biggest knockout puncher in history.’
Jones has threatened to vacate his title if he wins, instead of finally facing Aspinall, as fans and the fighter himself have called for.
He has never lost inside the octagon in his career, winning the title back in March 2023 when he beat Ciryl Gane for the vacant belt.
It seems unlikely he will ever face Aspinall, and he explained why in the build-up to his highly-anticipated bout in New York this weekend.
Aspinall won the interim heavyweight title belt when Jones was injured with a torn pec muscle
Miocic (pictured) is the underdog but looking to dethrone Jones in New York this weekend
‘There’s a part of me that does [want to compete with him], but if I’m being completely honest, I feel like Tom’s been such an a**hole that I don’t want to do business with him,’ Jones said. ‘His fans have been so annoying.
‘Obviously, you don’t get this far getting affected by fans and whatnot, but he’s just an a**hole. He’s 30, so he’s from this influencer generation where you hop online, t-shirt sales, and all that. I’m past that type of stuff. If you had a little bit more respect, maybe we could’ve worked something out.
‘This is a business, and fighting me gives him an opportunity to change his life forever. I don’t even want to give him the opportunity, he just played his cards wrong with me.
‘I’m three years away from being a 40-year-old, grown man. The press conference, going through the whole shebang with him, I’d just rather not do.’
