"Jon Jones ducked Francis Ngannou for 3 years” - Tom Aspinall tells fans not to be surprised by ‘Bones’ avoiding him 

Tom Aspinall has made it clear that the fight he wants above all others would be a title unification bout against Jon Jones, who will be defending his heavyweight belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. But with Aspinall the interim champion, Jones' upcoming clash has been heavily criticized by fans.

'Bones' has been accused of "ducking" the Brit in favor of facing Miocic, who has not competed in three years. Many fans believe that Aspinall is objectively the toughest matchup for the 38-year-old at heavyweight, and frustration from fans about the title picture is near-palpable.

But the Mancunian has told fans that they should not be surprised by Jones' reluctance to face him. He jibed that the New York native avoided Francis Ngannou after announcing his move from light heavyweight to heavyweight, and that picking and choosing opponents is nothing new for 'Bones'.

During a recent YouTube video uploaded to his channel, Aspinall said:

"I want the belt and [Jones] has got it. That's all I'm after, that's all I give a sh*t about, is me being the undisputed number one heavyweight walking around on planet Earth, and he's avoiding me. People have started acting surprised, 'Oh Jon's a duck, this that and the other.' Jon Jones ducked Francis Ngannou for three years. Don't be surprised that this guy always takes fights where he's at the advantage. That's not me getting at Jon, these are the facts of it."

Catch Tom Aspinall's comments about Jon Jones below (4:50):

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Tom Aspinall breaks down Stipe Miocic's "simple" route to victory against Jon Jones

UFC 309 will be headlined by a heavyweight title clash between two MMA icons, as Jon Jones will defend his belt against former champion Stipe Miocic.

Both men hold elite wrestling backgrounds, whilst Miocic also boasts a Golden Gloves boxing pedigree, making him arguably the toughest matchup 'Bones' has faced in years despite having not competed since 2021.

Ahead of the bout, Tom Aspinall shared the title challenger's best path to victory during an interview with Red Corner MMA:

"It's pretty simple, punch him in the face really hard. That's the way he's gonna win. Stipe has got a lot of knockouts on his record. We don't know if Jones' power, he's not really known for his power anyway, how does that look at heavyweight? It's still a bit of a question mark, whereas we know Stipe, even at 42 or 43 years old...we think he still has that power."

Catch Tom Aspinall's breakdown below (1:35):