- Tom Aspinall says he is tired of waiting for Jon Jones to accept a fight
- It has been claimed that American is ducking challenge of British rival
- Jones has responded during a live stream seemingly while riding a motorbike
Jon Jones has hit back at claims that he is ducking a massive fight with heavyweight rival Tom Aspinall.
The American is yet to agree terms on a mega-fight against the British star, despite it being the natural, most obvious and significant contest of the year – should it take place.
Aspinall has spoken of his patience running out and insisted he will soon move on from pushing to face the man many regard as MMA’s greatest.
In appearing on a live stream on Instagram, seemingly while riding or on the back of a motorbike, Jones responded to comments in the chat repeating the line that he is ducking Aspinall.
One comment read: ‘Doing everything but fighting Tom,’ while another asked, ‘why did you disappear?’
Jones retorted: ‘I’ve got people in the chat calling me a duck.
Jon Jones has responded to claims he is ducking a fight against Tom Aspinall
The British UFC star is desperate to upgrade his interim title by beating the American
‘Meanwhile, I’m living my absolute best life” “I don’t know if it’s considered ducking when you’re living good. I don’t think it works like that.’
It seems as though Jones, 37, has no intention of facing Aspinall in the fight all fans want to see.
No doubt he will continue to be criticised by fans who feel he is trying to protect his legacy rather than risk losing to the next generation’s heavyweight superstar.
Earlier, Aspinall had opened up on the situation and theorised about why Jones might be avoiding him.
Aspinall told the High Performance Podcast: ‘Me, personally, I can’t do anything.
‘I just think it’s down to money on his side. I will fight whenever — whenever, wherever he wants — but it’s down to money I think.
‘I just think that at this stage in his career, he’s had an amazing career, I just think that… he’s like 37, 38 years old, but not only that, he’s got a million miles on the clock.
‘So he’s got a lot of damage on the body, he’s [taken] a lot of shots to the head. And that’s not me saying anything negative. That’s the reality of it, and I’m sure Jon Jones is aware of that.
Aspinall believes the hold up could be over pay or Jones’ reluctance to put himself in danger
On positing that the hold-up is between Jones and the UFC over pay negotiations, the 32-year-old added: ‘When you put him in there with, and I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet, but I’m literally the most dangerous guy in the UFC if you look at the stats.
‘When you put him in with a guy of my size who has them credentials at this stage in his career, I think Jon’s a smart guy and realizes that, so he wants to be compensated financially for it.’
‘I’m well bored of [the Jones conversation]. I’ve had enough. We either need to fight, or I need to move on to something else.’
