UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has shared a clear reason why he has no interest in fighting interim titleholder Tom Aspinall after UFC 309.

Jones, who is scheduled to defend his heavyweight belt for the first time against two-time champion Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, had to ask far more questions about Aspinall’s run into the event than his UFC Hall of Fame opponent. .

Tom Aspinall Shares His Picks Against Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic Ahead of UFC 309

Jones and Miocic were scheduled to headline UFC 295 last year before “Bones” suffered a chest injury. Aspinall captured the belt by stopping Sergei Pavlovich in just over a minute after the UFC decided to put the interim heavyweight title on the line in the night’s co-main event.

The promotion’s Jones vs. A commitment to re-book against Miocic forced Aspinall to make a rare interim title defense against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, but unfortunately for the 31-year-old, any efforts to solidify a future matchup with Jones have been repeatedly thwarted .

“To be completely honest, I think Tom treated me in a way that I didn’t want to do business with,” Jones said. UFC 309 media day. “His fans were so annoying. And obviously you don’t get that close to a career by being influenced by fans and stuff, but he’s just an a**. He’s 30, so he comes from this generation of influencers where you jump online and do T-shirt sales and stuff. That’s the kind of thing I like.” I moved past things and said, ‘Brother, if you were a little more respectful, maybe we could work something out.’ I don’t even want to do business with him.”

Aspinall previously called for a matchup with Jones after avenging his injury loss to Blaydes at UFC 304, but fight fans have arguably become more persistent in their efforts to persuade the UFC’s heavyweight champion to sign on for a title unification bout.

Israel Adesanya’s Bold Prediction Against Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic

There’s still a chance Aspinall could step in on Saturday night if either of the main event fighters has any issues at weigh-in day, but as the UFC 309 fight week progresses, Jones has spent more and more time drumming up interest in the fight. A potential superfight with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira.

“Fighting me gives (Aspinall) the opportunity to change his life forever. And I don’t even want to give him this opportunity. He played his cards wrong with me personally. And I’m three years away from being a grown man at 40, you know what I mean? Just like the press conference, I’d rather not do it when discussing the whole issue with him. Pereira, on the other hand, is respectful, cool-headed, and doesn’t say much. It’s like – I’m going to do business with you. I would risk everything with a person like you. And you actually have the accolades to back your ass up. This other guy is a loudmouth who is so hot today.”

Already a former two-division GLORY kickboxing champion before joining the UFC in 2021, Pereira then moved to the UFC’s middleweight class in just his fourth fight with the promotion, before going on to capture the vacant light heavyweight belt at UFC 295 following Jones’ withdrawal. won the title. from the incident.

UFC 309 – Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic Pre-Fight Predictions