Jon Jones left an interview because he was afraid he would be asked questions about Tom Aspinall.
Jones will battle Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in a matchup that pits two of the best heavyweights of all time.
It’s a fight that should have happened last year, but Jones suffered a chest injury and was sidelined for several months. The rescheduled fight will finally take place this weekend.
The fight is one that has caught the attention of fans because of what is at stake, but others have been pondering what could come next in the form of a potential – and highly desired – between Jones and Aspinall.
While Jones is the heavyweight champion, Aspinall claimed the interim title last year when the main title holder retired with an injury. Normally the two fighters would clash, but that hasn’t happened yet.
And Jones was having none of it before an interview with TNT Sports’ Adam Catterall, deciding he didn’t want to talk to the reporter despite entering the room and preparing.
Jon Jones left an interview because he was afraid he would be asked about Tom Aspinall
Jones initially entered the room for the interview but decided to leave before sitting down
Jones is preparing to fight Stipe Miocic on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden
In the video, shared on social media, Jones could be seen entering the room and shaking hands with a staff member before meeting Catterall.
As the duo prepared to sit down, Jones seemed to hesitate and looked to the corner before saying, “Hey, I’m not going to do this interview.”
He added, “You know, because it’s going to be an Aspinall fest. I’m not going to do it” before leaving the room.
As he walked down a hallway, he approached Catterall and said, “Hey brother, nothing personal. I see how close you are. My common sense tells me what kind of questions I’m going to get.”
Jones tore a pectoral muscle in the lead-up to his fight with Miocic last year, resulting in a long-term injury.
In Jones’ absence, Aspinall won the interim title by beating Sergei Pavlovich, and then successfully defended it against Curtis Blaydes in July this year.
Normally he would be next to fight Jones, but because the fight with Miocic was already arranged, he had to wait. And Jones is reluctant to take the fight, even threatening to vacate his belt before fighting Aspinall.
He has never lost an Octagon fight in his career and won the title in March 2023 when he defeated Ciryl Gane for the vacant belt.
Aspinall is next in line to face Jones for his heavyweight title after winning the interim title
Jones approached TNT Sports interviewer Adam Catterall after the fight to tell him why
“There’s a part of me that does (want to compete with him), but if I’m completely honest, I feel like Tom has been such an asshole that I don’t want to do business with him,” Jones said. ‘His fans are so annoying.
“Obviously you can’t get that far if you’re influenced by fans and stuff, but he’s just an asshole. He’s 30, so he belongs to the generation of influencers where you surf online, sell t-shirts and such. I’m past that kind of thing. If you had been a little more respectful, maybe we could have worked something out.
“This is a case, and by fighting me he will have the opportunity to change his life forever. I don’t even want to give him a chance, he just played his cards wrong against me.
‘It will take another three years before I am a 40-year-old adult man. I’d rather not do the press conference, going through the whole thing with him.’