The interim and undisputed heavyweight champions Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones met for the first time last week in Birmingham of all places.
The two shared an awkward encounter as they passed at the Arnold Sports Festival. The exchange saw both speak over a host of people and then saw Jones brush Aspinall’s arm off his shoulder and look all but interested in the Manchester man. He also went on to refuse a face-off between the two after Aspinall asked.
Tom Aspinall won his interim belt by beating Sergi Pavlovich back in November and has since been trying to ensure a fight between him and champion Jones happens. Still, Dana White and Jones are looking toward a legacy fight with Stipe Miocic instead.
Tom Aspinall Has Voiced His Frustrations but Won’t Cause More Issues
“We were at the same event so obviously it makes sense for me, we’ve got the interim champion and the undisputed champion at the same event. But it’s a bit weird that there’s an undisputed champion and an interim champion, because undisputed means no one can dispute it, but if there’s another champion, I don’t know… it’s a little bit weird the way it looks.” Aspinall told JN Media.
Despite the awkward interaction Aspinall has promised to not cause more ‘beef’.
“I think he thought I was putting a hand on his shoulder to be disrespectful but I wasn’t. I wasn’t there to be disrespectful, I was doing it in a friendly way. I’m not going to cause more beef.”
The interaction ended with Jones refusing a face-off with Aspinall.
“We will do this (fight) thing,’ Aspinall said in the video shared on his YouTube channel. ‘I would love to man. I would hope so, Jones said with a smile. All the best.”
Jon Jones has been out with an injury since the Undisputed Heavyweight title fight with Cyril Gane last March.
Would you like to see Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall square off in the cage next? Or does the Stipe Miocic matchup interest you more? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Image Credit to Essentially Sports
