Despite massive claims made by UFC CEO Dana White on an already prolonged heavyweight title unification bout between champion Jon Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall, there is still no optimism flowing regarding the fight, and the maybe tag will remain on the fight until an official word on it comes out. While White has assured on multiple occasions that Jones vs Aspinall will happen, and Aspinall has been ready for the battle for an eternity, it is not hard to guess, but still difficult to contemplate and state with confidence the reason behind the delay.
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Immense Waiting Has Left Tom Aspinall Frustrated
From the outset, the focus is on Jon Jones, as he at a position to dictate the terms. Being the champion with a coveted record, one would say Jones has earned the right. However, it hasn't been fair to Tom Aspinall, who has wasted a sizeable period of his peak waiting for Jones to approve the fight. Fed up with the waiting, Aspinall is ready to move on and fight some other opponent, but the UFC has been obstinate and wants him to fight only Jones.
Calling it mentally straining, Tom Aspinall reflected on the frustrating spell during an interview with former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on his podcast.
“Now, I’ve been almost a year inactive with no prospects of anything apart from wait,” Aspinall said. “So now it’s actually a bit more of a tricky time for me mentally than it was then. Even people then were like, ‘Are you OK? How are you dealing with coming back?’ and stuff like that. I was like, yeah, I’m good. I’ve got this to look forward to, the doctor said I’ve got to do this in two weeks or in two months I can start grappling. I constantly had little goals to work towards. Whereas now it’s just like, ‘Just be ready and we’ll just let you know.’
“It’s kind of difficult mentally, but this is the fight against Jon Jones. The fight is another thing, this is the tricky bit where I really have to stay switched on, stay motivated, and I’m trying my best. It’s tough sometimes.”
While Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall makes all the sense in the world, the factors like fight purse might be the impediment that may have kept the fight off from poster. If it is the case, let's hope a price gets agreed upon soon so that the fans will get to witness one of the most anticipated fights of the recent past.