Tom Aspinall recently gave fans a concerning update about his health. Aspinall, who has been waiting to fight Jon Jones for more than a year, said his health hasn’t been at its best in 2025. The British heavyweight also explained the cause behind his illness.
Tom Aspinall Has Been Facing This Issue Since Christmas Last Year
Aspinall started calling out Jones for a title unification fight shortly after winning the UFC interim heavyweight title at UFC 295. However, the undisputed heavyweight champ has shown little interest in the matchup, calling Aspinall an undeserving challenger because of the lack of big names on his résumé.
Aspinall defended the interim title successfully at UFC 304 against Curtis Blaydes, but Jones hasn’t changed his stance about fighting him. Aspinall’s win over Blaydes remains his last fight in the UFC to date.
It’s been more than nine months since Aspinall last stepped inside the Octagon. In a recent social media video, he explained the reason for his long break.
An X update from @RedCorner_MMA shared a clip where Aspinall revealed he hasn’t felt healthy since Christmas. The Salford native said he has been sick more times this year than usual, even though it’s only April.
He said, “As professional athletes, as fighters, we don’t want to speak about stuff that’s holding us back, like injuries, illnesses, and all that. But this year, I have been ill more [number of] times than I have been in my life, and we’re in April.”
Aspinall added, “I got an illness, like a virus, just before Christmas. Basically, I’ve been on and off [with my health] since then.” His constant illnesses made him dig deeper into the problem. From his recent issues, he believes his “immunity” has dropped significantly.
The 32-year-old said, “I’ve been really ill, [even] bed-bound a couple of times [this year]. I’ve had ringworms a few times and other minor skin infections. These are the things that you usually get when your immune system’s gone.”
Aspinall said he’s undergone several tests to figure out what’s causing his health problems. He also called his inactivity a “good thing” because of how bad his health has been. The fighter, who holds a 15-3 record, said, “Even though I’ve not been active, looking back, probably, it’s probably a good job that I haven’t, because I haven’t been functioning at 100% for a while.”
Tom Aspinall gives an update on his health, saying it was probably a good thing he wasn’t active 💪, as he hasn’t been at 100% for a while 🤕.
"As professional athletes, we don't like to talk about stuff that's holding us back, like injuries, illnesses, etc. But this year, I've… pic.twitter.com/ceUDCz6dlj
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 27, 2025
With Aspinall’s health issues and Jones’s unwillingness to fight him, it looks like it might be quite a while before the British heavyweight returns to the Octagon.