Jon
Jones doesn’t appear to be too concerned with public
perception.
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During a recent session on Instagram Live, the
UFC’s reigning heavyweight champion addressed accusations that
he has been actively avoiding a fight against interim title holder
Tom
Aspinall. While UFC CEO Dana White has been confident that
Jones vs. Aspinall will happen this year, there has been little
tangible progress made — at least publicly — when it comes to
negotiations for that fight.
In the meantime, Aspinall has grown exceedingly frustrated with the
wait, as he has not competed since defending the interim crown with
a stoppage of Curtis
Blaydes at UFC 304. In a recent interview, the Englishman
suggested that he would be ready to move on from Jones if the
bout isn’t finalized soon.
Jones, however, doesn’t seem to be in a rush to get back in the
Octagon.
“I’ve got people in the chat calling me a ‘duck,’” Jones said.
“Meanwhile, I’m living my absolute best life. I don’t know if it’s
considered ducking when you’re living good. I don’t think it works
like that.”
After a lengthy reign as light heavyweight champion, “Bones”
returned to capture the vacant heavyweight strap with a first-round
submission of Ciryl Gane
at UFC 285 in March 2023. An injury forced him out of a title
defense against Stipe Moicic at UFC 295 that November. Even after
Aspinall became interim champ, Jones held out for a legacy fight
against Miocic, which he won via won via third-round TKO at UFC 309
this past November. After that triumph, Jones implied that it would
take a significant amount of money to accept the fight against
Aspinall.