UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was cordial when he bumped into interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, but Jones showed the emerging talent there are levels to the game when he refused to be photographed with him in a face-off.
Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall finally met for the first time when they crossed paths at the Arnold Sports Festival in Birmingham, England. Aspinall spotted Jones and asked if he could say ‘Hello’ to a potential opponent. Jones was in a good mood as he dapped up Aspinall as they exchanged pleasantries.
But when Aspinall tried to get touchy with Jones, Bones removed Aspinall’s hand from his left shoulder. And when Aspinall asked if they could take a face-off picture, the GOAT said “no.” Jones did, however, grant Aspinall’s request to have a picture with him, just not a face-off.
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Aspinall has never been shy to admit his admiration for Jones who is considered by many, including UFC President Dana White, to be the GOAT of MMA. So it was natural for him to turn into a fanboy when he saw Bones at the event.
Like any fan, Aspinall wanted to have a photo with his idol. But as Jon showed him, there are levels to the game.
Aspinall won the interim UFC heavyweight title by defeating Sergei Pavlobvich at UFC 295 last November. That bout took place after Jones suffered an injury which caused the postponement of his long-anticipated matchup against former champion Stipe Miocic.
The UFC currently has two heavyweight champions – Jones the undisputed belt holder and Aspinall the interim champion. But while both are champions, Aspinall isn’t on the same level as Jones, at least not yet.
Jones has fought a total of 16 UFC title bouts and has faced many of the best fighters ever in the UFC. Meanwhile, the win over Pavlovich was Aspinall’s first-ever UFC world title fight.
There is a possibility that Jones and Aspinall will fight each other one day. And as Aspinall told Jones during their meeting, he would love the honor of fighting him one day. But unless that day comes, there will be no face-off photo between the two because right now, Jones doesn’t think that they are on the same level.