Despite the circulating reports that he responded with a sarcastic “sorry” to Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall stressed that he’s sincere about his apology to the heavyweight champ. In a recent interview, the Briton acknowledged Jones’ contribution to the MMA industry and publicly retracted his demand to strip the champion of his belt.
It can be recalled that the interim heavyweight champion made several callouts to Jones to fight him. However, the American is recovering from an injury before his fight against Stipe Miocic. After this, the champ will reportedly retire, making it impossible for Aspinall to have his “dream fight.” With this, the British fighter boldly criticized UFC and Jones and demanded a title strip.
Jones stayed mum for a while before responding to Aspinall’s protest but later countered it indirectly:
“I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now,” Jones posted on X. “During camp for a title defense, I sustained a major injury that required surgery for the first time in my career.
“Now I have newcomers requesting I get my championship stripped. Zero wins over legends, zero title defenses and already thinking you can call the shots to Dana, that’s hilarious. In my 15-year career, I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing. There’s ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that.”
In response, Aspinall retweeted Jones’ post and added an apology: “You’re right. Sorry Jon.” Fans and other outlets, however, seemed to have misinterpreted the words of the Briton, claiming the apology was insincere and a form of sarcasm. Nonetheless, Aspinall cleared everything through an interview with The Sun:
“I said in previous interviews that I think Jon Jones should get stripped. I actually worded it wrong, and I don’t think he should get stripped, because I think Jon Jones has done so much for the sport as it is that I think he maybe deserves [to keep the belt].
“I think he should potentially vacate, but at the same time, who am I to tell Jon Jones what to do? If I come out and say, ‘I think he should vacate’, he’s definitely not going to vacate, because I’ve said it. He’s probably gonna do the opposite. [But] I think that if it gets up to a year, though, or something like that, [he should].
“We’re talking about a guy with a lot of miles on the clock. The guy is definitely not fresh as an athlete. This thing is going to take a while; I know a few people who have torn their pec and stuff. It’s no joke that injury, mate. I know they’re saying eight to 10 months before he can train; that translates to way north of a year until he can actually compete again.”
