Kevin Holland breaks silence on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall title unification fight drama, backs 'Bones' to "play it like Floyd Mayweather"

Kevin Holland recently shared his thoughts on the ongoing controversy surrounding a potential title unification fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. 'Bones' retained his heavyweight title with a knockout victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November. Since then, speculation has been growing over who he will face next.

Having held the interim UFC heavyweight title for over 500 days, Aspinall stands as the rightful challenger for a shot at the undisputed championship. However, Jones has consistently shown reluctance to face the Englishman to unify the belts, and now he has reportedly stated that he would need at least six months to prepare if the fight were to take place.

During an appearance on the Believe You Me podcast, 'Trailblazer' backed Jones in the ongoing title standoff with Aspinall, pointing to his decorated career. Holland also suggested that the MMA veteran is strategically delaying the fight as a psychological tactic to gain an advantage:

"I'm going to stand up for him [Jones] a little bit on this one. The dude's been around for a very long time, and he's fought a lot of people. Tom Aspinall is an absolute beast. Jon Jones is the greatest to do it in his time frame, and now he's actually doing it in a different time frame. I mean, this probably should be Tom Aspinall's time frame."

He added:

"If I'm Jon Jones, I'm going to play it like a Floyd Mayweather. I'm going to play it like how these old-school boxers played it. I'm going to play it as smart as I can. I'm going to be the OG in the game. Yeah, we may not like it. Yeah, it may suck. Yeah, we may want to see the fight tomorrow, but the older I get, the smarter I will play the game."

Check out Kevin Holland's comments below (21:35):

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Tom Aspinall optimistic about Jon Jones showdown following meeting with UFC leadership

Tom Aspinall sat down with UFC CBO Hunter Campbell in London this past weekend to evaluate his position in the promotion and discuss his long-awaited unification bout with Jon Jones.

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the interim UFC heavyweight champion remained tight-lipped but conveyed confidence about finally securing a showdown with Jones:

"We had a fantastic meeting. Everything went amazing. “I understand my position now. I understand what the company is doing now, and you have to stay tuned, my friend because there’s some big news coming."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (10:30):