Jon Jones praised for 'stroke of genius' that led to rumored $30million purse for Tom Aspinall fight
01/06/2025 12:56 PM
Jon Jones has been told that his performance during UFC 309 fight week was a ‘stroke of genius’ that may have netted him tens of millions.
The legendary two-weight world champion viciously knocked out Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden back in November. But it was his performance outside of the octagon throughout fight week that impressed Michael Bisping.
During the build-up, there was a large shadow hanging over proceedings in the form of interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. The Brit showed up but refused to play the Shannon Briggs role, instead opting to let fans do the chanting for him, much to Jones’ seeming annoyance.
Jon Jones dismissed Tom Aspinall’s challenge until after UFC 309
One of the biggest moments of the fight build-up saw Aspinall’s name widely cheers at the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference. This led to Jon Jones telling the crowd to settle down, after having insisted that he isn’t ‘ducking’ the Manchester native.
He has generally been dismissive of a potential bout with the Brit, who won and even defended the interim belt in the time between Jones’ title win and first defence. But it now seems that the fight is going to happen, with Dana White calling it the biggest in heavyweight history.
Joe Rogan now claims Jon Jones could earn $30million to face Tom Aspinall
Following his victory, Jones claimed that he wanted ‘f*** you money,’, to the point where he would be set regardless of the result. This plays into narratives of him being concerned about the outcome, given Aspinall’s considerable size advantage.
Speaking during a recent episode of his podcast with comedians Chris DiStefano and Yannis Papis, Joe Rogan said: “I think it's gonna be Aspinall, I think they're trying to come to some sort of agreement. The rumour is that he wants $30m and the UFC is going to pay it. Hopefully… I hope they pay it.”
Papis then claimed that the fight fans truly wanted to see was Jones against light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Rogan agreed to a point, but also stressed how big a fight with the interim title holder would be as well.
Michael Bisping heaps praise on Jon Jones over Tom Aspinall fight negotiations
Despite his strange antics on fight week that included turning down an interview with British broadcaster Adam Catterall over his friendship with Aspinall, Michael Bisping reckons Jones played it perfectly. There’s now a narrative that he is ‘ducking’ the Manchester native and belief he may finally lose.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Bisping told fans: "As we know, Jon Jones kind of shied away from fighting Tom Aspinall leading up to the Stipe fight, which was an absolutely stroke of genius in term of marketing.
“It drove the demand through the roof, sky high, making it the fight that everybody wants to see. Well guess what? The man is going to get paid properly, more than likely, that’s the rumor. The greatest fighter of all time."
