JON JONES has laid down his demands for a historic showdown with Tom Aspinall.
The 37-year-old made the maiden defence of his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic last Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.
Jon Jones brutally stopped Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 to retain his heavyweight title[/caption]
MMA fans are hoping Jones face interim champ Tom Aspinall in a unification fight[/caption]
Jones is willing to face the Brit, so long as Dana White and the UFC brass make it worth his while[/caption]
Jones scored a stunning third-round KO victory over the former champion courtesy of a sensational spinning back kick.
MMA fans around the world are hoping the former pound-for-pound king’s next fight will be a unification bout with interim champ Aspinall, who was cageside at MSG.
But the 37-year-old insists he WON’T share the octagon with the Brit unless the UFC brass make him an offer he can’t refuse.
He said of Aspinall in the UFC’s 309 post-fight press conference: “He’s annoying to me and that’s my own personal — he annoys me.
“I get to you guys, you find it entertaining, but I find him annoying and I just don’t like him.
“And at the end of the day, if I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be so compensated.
‘I want to say it, I want that ‘f**k you’ money, honestly. That’s just what it is.”
Defeat to Aspinall would do little to affect Jones’ legacy in the sport, in which he’s widely considered the GOAT.
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But the fan favourite said: “I want to be compensated to the point where if I won or lost, that it really wouldn’t matter.”
Jones, who returned from an 18-month layoff, is currently eyeing a blockbuster superfight with superstar Alex Pereira.
But he’s willing to hang up his gloves if the UFC don’t approach him with suitable figures for fights with the Brazilian or Aspinall.
He said: “I don’t need [Aspinall] at all and he needs me and that’s a good place to be in a negotiation.”
UFC President and CEO Dana White, however, insists the only fight Jones will be offered is a unification bout with Aspinall.
He said: “You know what tonight told me? There’s no f***ing way I make the Pereira fight.
“Jon’s too big. [Jon is a] great wrestler.
Dana White believes Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall would be one of the biggest fights in UFC history[/caption]
“Did you see how he took Stipe down in that first round?
“I like Alex Pereira. I like him personally. It just doesn’t make sense to make that fight.”
On a potential fight between Jones and Aspinall, White, 55, said: “It would be the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history, by a long shot.
“It’s going to be the biggest heavyweight fight ever.
“And it’ll probably be the biggest fight we’ve ever done.”
