Tom Aspinall’s journey to the UFC heavyweight throne has been anything but ordinary. Jon Jones hesitated for nearly a year, then abandoned the title. After a string of dominant performances, the British fighter finally had the “undisputed” label attached to his name. Yet, for Aspinall, the moment was less about triumph and more about a sense of closure, and, perhaps, a dash of what might have been.
Tom Aspinall’s Honest Admission: ‘It’s Nice, But I Wish I Beat Jon Jones’”
Speaking candidly about his coronation, Aspinall didn’t mince words. In an interview with Adam Catterall, he explained, “I thought I was a champion anyway. I know I was the interim champion, but I didn’t really feel… I was more just relieved. Right, that’s done. I can fight again. Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to be an undisputed champion. I would have rather took it from Jon Jones, the undisputed champion, though.”
Tom Aspinall’s rise was rapid. In November 2023, he seized the interim heavyweight title with a knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich, stepping up after Jon Jones withdrew from his scheduled defense against Stipe Miocic due to injury. While most would have basked in interim glory, Aspinall saw it as unfinished business. He defended his interim belt against Curtis Blaydes, further cementing his status, but the shadow of Jones loomed large.
The MMA world waited for the inevitable unification bout. Jones returned to action in late 2024, dispatching Miocic and seemingly clearing the path for a clash with Tom Aspinall. Yet, the fight never materialized. Negotiations fizzled, and UFC president Dana White’s assurances did little to bring the two together. Instead, fans got a series of awkward public encounters and social media exchanges, with Jones showing little enthusiasm for the matchup and Aspinall making it clear he was chasing the title, not the man.
Then came the anticlimax. In June 2025, Jon Jones announced his retirement, leaving the heavyweight division without its long-reigning king. The UFC wasted little time, promoting Tom Aspinall from interim to undisputed champion at a press conference in Baku. For Aspinall, the moment was more relief than elation, a bureaucratic end to a saga that never delivered its blockbuster conclusion.
