Jon Jones fires back at Tom Aspinall’s call to strip him of UFC heavyweight title

Jon Jones earned his spot among the all-time greats in MMA history, so he doesn’t want to hear from new interim champion Tom Aspinall.

Jones, originally scheduled to face Stipe Miocic in the UFC 295 main event, was forced off the card after suffering a torn pectoral muscle that required surgery. The UFC moved forward with an interim title fight, Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich, and Aspinall knocked out Pavlovich to capture the belt in the co-main event.

Afterward, Aspinall called for Jones to be stripped of the title that “Bones” won in March by making quick work of Ciryl Gane. He said Jones should give up his title because that’s what “everyone else does when they get injured like that.”

Jones obviously disagrees.

“I’ve faced the absolute toughest competition this world had to offer for 15 years now,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “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 [White], that’s hilarious.”

UFC CEO Dana White shut down Aspinall’s idea this past weekend and confirmed plans are still in place for Jones to face Miocic next year.

Aspinall has been quite impressive since arriving in the UFC, putting together a 7-1 overall record with all seven wins coming by knockout or submission. That resume hardly measures up to Jones, who effectively remains undefeated in his entire career (outside of a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009) and holds wins over eight former UFC champions.

Without mentioning Aspinall by name, Jones sent a not so subtle reminder to that fact in his post on social media.

“In my 15 year career I have seen so many guys who are supposed to be the next big thing,” Jones said. “There’s ever only been one Jon Jones, never forget that.”