MMA insider makes feelings known on why UFC 313's outcome has made Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall "clearly the fight to make now"

Jon Jones made his highly anticipated return to the octagon in November, defeating Stipe Miocic via third-round TKO at UFC 309 to defend his heavyweight title for the first time. After hinting at retirement leading up to the bout, 'Bones' has since shared that he will continue his illustrious mixed martial arts career for the right price.

Following Alex Pereira's UFC 313 loss to Magomed Ankalaev, Ariel Helwani believes that a matchup with Tom Aspinall is the only option for the heavyweight champion. Speaking on his self-titled show, the MMA journalist said:

"The big winner, in addition to Magomed Ankalaev, to a degree is Tom Aspinall because now the threat of Alex Pereira against Jon Jones isn't there. I never thought it was a serious threat, but it's completely off the table because Jon can't say to the UFC, 'I want to fight Pereira'. Pereira isn't the light heavyweight champion and he's coming off a loss and it wasn't the greatest performance."

Helwani continued:

"Now the bigger fight is, in my opinion, Jones vs. Aspinall. That's the bigger fight and so with that threat not being there, that's better for Tom Aspinall... I think it gets done, if only because I think they need for it to get done. They need that big fight this summer, this fall."

Check out Ariel Helwani's full comments on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall below:

Jones has shared that he is looking to secure a big payday to enter the octagon one final time. While he has not publicly disclosed the amount he is looking for, reports have suggested that his asking price could be $30 million.

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Jon Jones' manager gives update on Tom Aspinall negotiations

Dana White recently hinted that the clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall could happen as soon as this summer. Jones' manager, Malik Kawa, responded to those claims during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, saying:

"We sit in negotiations all day long and we talk about things all day long, right? And I think that everybody that's involved in anything to do with any of this stuff wants all these fights to happen, right? I'll just leave it at that... It depends on certain things and whether or not everybody wants to make those certain things happen. If the answer to everybody else is yes, those certain things happen then yes, the fight will happen."

Check out Malki Kawa's full comments on Jon Jones below:

Kawa added that he believes Jones should sit atop the pound-for-pound rankings as long as he is active. Aspinall recently suggested that everything is done, and the UFC is looking for a date for the bout.