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Tom Aspinall says Jon Jones delay is testing him more than injury

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Mathew Riddle | Last updated May 22, 2025 7:04 AM ET

Tom Aspinall is starting to falter after waiting for Jon Jones for so long.

As the UFC interim heavyweight champion with one defense, Aspinall is the rightful contender to Jones' disputed throne. After many months and 500-plus days of interim title status, Aspinall seems no closer to the fight, as Jones creeps up on

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Tom Aspinall opens up on mental struggle waiting for Jon Jones

Aspinall's father has demanded Jones be stripped of the title. The British heavyweight wants nothing more than the undisputed title, and it doesn't matter whether Jones holds it or not; he'd only like to fight for it sooner rather than later.

"I've been almost a year inactive with no prospects of anything apart from... 'wait,'" Aspinall revealed on Demetrious Johnson's podcast. "So now is actually a little bit more of a tricky time for me mentally than it was [after injury in 2022].

"[Before] I constantly had little goals that I could work towards, whereas now, it's like, 'Just be ready and we'll just let you know,' and it's kind of difficult mentally. . . . This is the fight against Jon Jones, the fight is another thing. This is the tricky bit where I have to stay switched on, stay motivated.

". . . It's tough, sometimes."

Jones-Aspinall remains one of the biggest fights in UFC history. It could also mark the second UFC superfight we've missed this year, after Islam Makhachev stepped away from fighting Ilia Topuria in the aftermath of UFC 315.

Interestingly enough, Jones could be involved in two of the biggest 'what-ifs' in UFC history: First against Francis Ngannou, and now against Britain's Aspinall.

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This article first appeared on MMA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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