Ariel Helwani is no stranger to the UFC, and one of the best things about him is his ability to speak his mind. With Jon Jones being accused of ducking Tom Aspinall, Helwani used his show to weigh in on the situation and Jones’ unwillingness to sign a contract and crown an undisputed heavyweight champion.
Ariel Helwani Knows Jon Jones, Or Someone Has to be Lying
To Ariel Helwani, the decision is simple: “They have to make a decision, take that belt away, move on. That’s what needs to happen,” he said. “They don’t want to do that because they’re holding out hope that they have this megafight in November.”
Even if Jones were to face Aspinall in November, that would be a massive layoff for both fighters. Jones’ last fight was on November 16, 2024, with Aspinall last defending his Interim title on July 27, 2024. Aspinall would have to deal with a year-and-a-half break just to get the Jones fight he’s been promised repeatedly.
If Jon Jones has actually told the UFC his plans, it's time to share these plans with Tom Aspinall. It appears someone has to be lying. Either the UFC doesn't know Jon's plans, or they do.
Until the UFC really have to make a call, until they really need someone to fill a date,… pic.twitter.com/MHAWBJSJVy
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
“One of the things I’d be most frustrated about if I was the Aspinall’s is the fact that they’ve been told on several occasions, end of the week, end of the day.” Petesy Carroll mentioned. At one point, in an interview recorded six weeks ago, Aspinall was told he’d know by the end of the day.
“Tom is miserable,” Carroll continued. “Sitting around, what the f**k am I going to do? This potentially generational heavyweight just sitting around, no motivation to train. You’d assume it’s difficult to constantly get yourself into hard rounds when this guy has no intention of fighting you. Surely that’s the most annoying part of this for that whole team.”
Helwani added, “Can’t imagine what it must be like to be healthy and in your prime and your job is to go to the gym, train… and you’re just being iced. And meanwhile, the guy you’re being iced for is sipping out of coconuts and laughing at him”. He touched on the fact that UFC fighters are supposed to wait until their 30s to be in their prime, and here Aspinall is at 32 years old, just sitting around with nothing happening.
Another of Helwani’s co-hosts, Eric Jackman, said, “Tom is in a position where he either has to wait for this mega opportunity or force their hand. Outside of that, the UFC is under no stress or pressure to do that. Tom is the one who needs to push the envelope and make them make the move because until he does, they are just going to wait and wait and wait for Jon Jones to do something.”