Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is throwing his support behind Jon Jones after he spoke out against the UFC.
Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) finds himself in hot water with UFC brass again after CEO Dana White said he never intended on having Jones compete on the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House. Jones took umbrage with that by claiming that he was indeed in deep negotiations but wasn’t pleased with the offer he received from the UFC.
Advertisement
White went as far as to say that Jones is done fighting because of the severe arthritis in his hip, which prompted Jones to ask for his release. Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who spent more than a year waiting for his title-unification bout with Jones that never materialized, backed his former rival.
“This is going to probably be crazy to a lot of people listening, but why is the UFC not giving Jon the respect he deserves financially? That’s crazy to me,” Aspinall said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “If anyone should be getting paid a lot in this sport, it should be Jon Jones for the stuff he’s done. And that’s me saying that after the history I’ve had with Jon Jones.
“If anybody should be getting money in this sport, it’s Jon Jones. They offered him $30 million to fight me, so why have they not offered it again? We’re talking about Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. Those are the guys who have brought in revenue for over 10 years. They need to be getting paid what they deserve in my opinion.”
More: Triple Take: Is the UFC Freedom 250 card a complete letdown?
Advertisement
Aspinall himself hasn’t been on the best of terms with White since his title fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 ended in a no contest. The eye pokes that ended the fight resulted in Aspinall having to get double eye surgery. Aspinall felt White downplayed the situation and has recently signed with his rival promoter Eddie Hearn for representation.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Tom Aspinall shows Jon Jones support amid UFC dispute
