Aspinall: 'I'd be very, very surprised' if Jones fight ever happens

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall isn't getting his hopes up.

Despite coming face to face with Jon Jones in a viral moment last weekend, Aspinall said he doesn't see his dream fight with the heavyweight champ ever coming to fruition.

"I'd be very, very surprised if me and Jon Jones ever stepped in the Octagon together," Aspinall told JN Media's Jamal Niaz. "I'm trying to get the fight, but I'm not trying to get it realistically. I'm trying to have a bit of fun and see what he's all about."

Aspinall ran into Jones at the Arnold Sports Festival in Birmingham, England, and politely exchanged words with the future UFC Hall of Famer. Jones declined Aspinall's request to do a faceoff but said "maybe one day" they'd meet in the cage.

Aspinall aggressively pursued a fight with Jones after capturing the interim heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last November. But UFC CEO Dana White has remained committed to rescheduling a bout between Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic later in 2024.

"I don't think the UFC is going to go for (the fight), and I don't think Jon Jones is going to go for it either," Aspinall said.

The Englishman stopped chasing Jones and has shifted his focus to a potential rematch with Curtis Blaydes, who handed Aspinall his lone UFC loss in July 2022. Aspinall suffered a severe knee injury 15 seconds into the fight after throwing a leg kick.

Blaydes is coming off a knockout of Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 earlier in March and called out Aspinall after the win.

"I'm the easiest person ever to entice into a fight," Aspinall said. "I've never turned one down yet. Anything that's stopping me from fighting right now is not down to me, it's down to the UFC. I'm just waiting for the UFC to let me know who and when, and I'll be ready."