‘Hurry up or retire’ – Michael Bisping gives brutally honest Jon Jones assessment as he admits sympathy for Tom Aspinall
Michael Bisping believes Jon Jones should retire if he doesn’t accept a fight with Tom Aspinall soon. Jones is the UFC heavyweight champion and has been urged to fight Tom Aspinall this year to unify Dana White‘s heaviest division. Jones has been avoiding a fight with Tom AspinallGetty Images - Getty Aspinall has claimed he has accepted the bout and he is awaiting Jones’ responsegetty ‘Bones’ defended his status as the heavyweight king at UFC 309 in November against Stipe Miocic, but has never publicly admitted to wanting a fight with Aspinall. Instead, the 37-year-old has opted to continuously call out Alex Pereira, the former champion at light heavyweight. However, Pereira lost his crown at 205 pounds this month to Magomed Ankalev, making a fight between Jones and Aspinall the only viable option. Speaking ahead of his commentary duties at UFC London this weekend, Bisping didn’t hold back, offering a brutally honest assessment of Jones while also expressing sympathy for Aspinall’s situation. “Not that Tom wants any sympathy from me, but I really feel for the guy,” he said. “He’s in the prime of his life. He should be fighting regularly. He’s in the gym every day. He’s very humble. “He is the interim champion of the world. He’s defended the interim championship status. The heavyweight champion of the world fought in November. Why they haven’t made this matchup is beyond me.” Recent reports inside the MMA world suggested that Jones required at least six months to prepare for a fight with Manchester’s Aspinall, 31. However, Bisping believes if Jones is to wait that amount of time then the UFC should strip him of his title. “Jones has had an incredible career,” the 46-year-old Brit and former UFC middleweight champion added. Bisping said Jones needs to fight Aspinall or retireGetty ‘Bones’ last fought in November at UFC 309getty He finished the now-retired Miocic with a devastating spinning back kickGetty “You only need two months for a fight camp. I don’t understand that at all. I, for the life of me, don’t understand why this fight isn’t being made. “And if they don’t announce it soon, then they’re really going to talk about stripping this guy. ‘Simply, I mean, any other sport, if this was boxing, you would be stripped. If you don’t fight the mandatory challenger, you will be stripped…It’s just madness.” Bisping retired from MMA in 2017 following two consecutive defeats to Kevin Gastelum and UFC legend Georges St-Pierre. He has been in there with the very best in the world and doesn’t understand why Jones would be afraid of someone like Aspinall. “I don’t know what Jones is playing at,” Bisping added. “I heard a rumour that he’s worried about getting knocked out. Right? Bisping couldn’t believe rumours that Jones was scared of a KO from AspinallGetty The British MMA legend is a former champion in his own rightGetty “Which just blew my mind. Blew my mind. What do you mean you’re worried about – of course you’re worried about it. “I’ve never went into a fight, well, most of them, where I’m not concerned about getting knocked out. “That’s what makes you a fighter. Going into a fight that you don’t know you can win…they’re supposed to be hard. “You don’t want one-sided mismatches. Look at Jake Paul for crying out loud – 58-year-old Mike Tyson – what does he want? An easy matchup? “I’ve got tremendous respect for John Jones and what he’s done throughout his career. And you can’t knock it. It’s incredible. “But if he has concerns about fighting Tom, because he might get knocked out, and that’s why the fight’s not happening, then I think myself and a lot of his peers would be very disappointed to hear that.” Where to buy UFC London tickets *If you click on a link in this boxout we will earn affiliate revenue. Please note that Stubhub and Viagogo are ticket resale sites and as such, tickets may be listed at above face value prices. With the UFC only coming to the UK a handful of times per year, the opportunity to see MMA’s biggest stars in action can be limited. However, this month UK-based MMA fans will have the opportunity to see the excitement live as the UFC returns to the 02 arena for UFC Fight Night 254, Edwards vs Brady. See some of the UK’s finest as Leon Edwards, Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood and more take to the Octagon in what’s set to be a thrilling night of fights. To get tickets to UFC London, follow the links below. UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady (02 Arena, 22 March) UFC London tickets at Ticketmaster, from £308.40 – buy here UFC London tickets at Vivid Seats, from £316 – buy here UFC London tickets at Stubhub, from £181 – buy here UFC London tickets at Viagogo, from £209 – buy here For fans looking for an unrivalled Fight Night experience, Seat Unique offers UFC London hospitality packages complete with floor-level seating, UFC athlete appe
Michael Bisping believes Jon Jones should retire if he doesn’t accept a fight with Tom Aspinall soon.
Jones is the UFC heavyweight champion and has been urged to fight Tom Aspinall this year to unify Dana White‘s heaviest division.
‘Bones’ defended his status as the heavyweight king at UFC 309 in November against Stipe Miocic, but has never publicly admitted to wanting a fight with Aspinall.
Instead, the 37-year-old has opted to continuously call out Alex Pereira, the former champion at light heavyweight.
However, Pereira lost his crown at 205 pounds this month to Magomed Ankalev, making a fight between Jones and Aspinall the only viable option.
Speaking ahead of his commentary duties at UFC London this weekend, Bisping didn’t hold back, offering a brutally honest assessment of Jones while also expressing sympathy for Aspinall’s situation.
“Not that Tom wants any sympathy from me, but I really feel for the guy,” he said.
“He’s in the prime of his life. He should be fighting regularly. He’s in the gym every day. He’s very humble.
“He is the interim champion of the world. He’s defended the interim championship status. The heavyweight champion of the world fought in November. Why they haven’t made this matchup is beyond me.”
Recent reports inside the MMA world suggested that Jones required at least six months to prepare for a fight with Manchester’s Aspinall, 31.
However, Bisping believes if Jones is to wait that amount of time then the UFC should strip him of his title.
“Jones has had an incredible career,” the 46-year-old Brit and former UFC middleweight champion added.
“You only need two months for a fight camp. I don’t understand that at all. I, for the life of me, don’t understand why this fight isn’t being made.
“And if they don’t announce it soon, then they’re really going to talk about stripping this guy.
‘Simply, I mean, any other sport, if this was boxing, you would be stripped. If you don’t fight the mandatory challenger, you will be stripped…It’s just madness.”
Bisping retired from MMA in 2017 following two consecutive defeats to Kevin Gastelum and UFC legend Georges St-Pierre.
He has been in there with the very best in the world and doesn’t understand why Jones would be afraid of someone like Aspinall.
“I don’t know what Jones is playing at,” Bisping added. “I heard a rumour that he’s worried about getting knocked out. Right?
“Which just blew my mind. Blew my mind. What do you mean you’re worried about – of course you’re worried about it.
“I’ve never went into a fight, well, most of them, where I’m not concerned about getting knocked out.
“That’s what makes you a fighter. Going into a fight that you don’t know you can win…they’re supposed to be hard.
“You don’t want one-sided mismatches. Look at Jake Paul for crying out loud – 58-year-old Mike Tyson – what does he want? An easy matchup?
“I’ve got tremendous respect for John Jones and what he’s done throughout his career. And you can’t knock it. It’s incredible.
“But if he has concerns about fighting Tom, because he might get knocked out, and that’s why the fight’s not happening, then I think myself and a lot of his peers would be very disappointed to hear that.”
Where to buy UFC London tickets
*If you click on a link in this boxout we will earn affiliate revenue. Please note that Stubhub and Viagogo are ticket resale sites and as such, tickets may be listed at above face value prices.
With the UFC only coming to the UK a handful of times per year, the opportunity to see MMA’s biggest stars in action can be limited.
However, this month UK-based MMA fans will have the opportunity to see the excitement live as the UFC returns to the 02 arena for UFC Fight Night 254, Edwards vs Brady.
See some of the UK’s finest as Leon Edwards, Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood and more take to the Octagon in what’s set to be a thrilling night of fights.
To get tickets to UFC London, follow the links below.
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady (02 Arena, 22 March)
- UFC London tickets at Ticketmaster, from £308.40 – buy here
- UFC London tickets at Vivid Seats, from £316 – buy here
- UFC London tickets at Stubhub, from £181 – buy here
- UFC London tickets at Viagogo, from £209 – buy here
For fans looking for an unrivalled Fight Night experience, Seat Unique offers UFC London hospitality packages complete with floor-level seating, UFC athlete appearances, post-fight Octagon experiences and more.
Get your UFC London hospitality tickets below.
UFC London hospitality tickets (02 Arena, 22 March)
- UFC London hospitality at Seat Unique, from £4,599 – buy here
Jones was originally scheduled to defend his heavyweight strap in November 2023, but pulled out of his fight with Miocic after ‘tearing his pec from the bone’.
This handed Aspinall a golden opportunity, and he proceeded to step in for a fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295, where he was crowned the interim champion for the first time.
Aspinall then defended his status eight months later at UFC 304 in Manchester, exacting revenge on Curtis Blaydes with a first-round KO that cemented himself as the No.1 contender to Jones’ crown.
Although he doesn’t believe ‘Bones’ would, Bisping believes the heavyweight champion could simply ‘fake’ an injury to escape a potential meeting with Aspinall.
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady full card
Main card 8pm
- Welterweight: Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady
- Light heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Gunnar Nelson
- Women’s strawweight: Molly McCann vs. Alexia Thainara
- Lightweight: Jordan Vucenic vs. Chris Duncan
- Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood vs. Morgan Charriere
Prelims 5pm
- Lightweight: Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla
- Flyweight: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos
- Heavyweight: Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin
- Middleweight: Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andrey Pulyaev
- Women’s strawweight: Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
- Bantamweight: Nathan Fletcher vs. Caolan Loughran
- Lightweight: Guram Kutateladze vs. Kaue Fernandes
“If Jon is going to train with some big heavyweights for six months, you’ve got a really good chance of getting injured and doing what he did last time,” he concluded.
“And if he was to have to pull out again, then there’s got to be some very, very serious decisions made, because otherwise…you could just fake an injury, couldn’t you?
“If you didn’t want the fight to happen, not that I’m saying you would. I’m not. I’m saying that at some point you can’t keep doing that.
“Jon Jones wouldn’t do that. Jones is, you know, it’s easy to criticise the fact that the fight isn’t happening.
“You can’t criticise what he’s done inside the Octagon. You just can’t. And I know a lot of people think that he waited around for Francis Ngannou.
“I don’t necessarily buy that. He’s been an incredible champion, but he needs to hurry up with this fight. Simple as that. Or retire.”
UFC London sees Leon Edwards make his return to the Octagon as he takes on Sean Brady to decide the No.1 contender at welterweight.
Meanwhile, Jan Blachowicz faces Carlos Ulberg in a top light heavyweight bout and Liverpudlian Molly McCann features on the main card also.
