Tom Aspinall accuses Jon Jones of "playing games" - "He doesn't want the fight"

Tom Aspinall is officially set to make his return to the octagon at UFC 304, where he will defend his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes. The No.1-ranked heavyweight recently claimed the undisputed champion Jon Jones is playing games by choosing to defend his title against Stipe Miocic.

Speaking on his self-titled YouTube channel, the interim heavyweight champion stated:

"Well, I've made it pretty clear that I want to fight Jones. I'm not going to go out my - I'm not going to start acting like someone that I'm not. Do you know what I mean? I spoke to Jon Jones online, I spoke to Jon Jones privately, I spoke to Jon Jones personally, publicly. There's not a lot more that I can do. Jon Jones is playing games. He doesn't want the fight."

Aspinall continued:

"I'm not going to start acting like someone I'm not just to get views and get attention, all that stuff. I want to be true to myself. I want to fight the best people in the world. Hopefully, fingers crossed, one day that will interest Jon, but right now he's interested in fighting 42 year old Stipe so there isn't a lot to say about that really."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments on facing Jon Jones below:

Aspinall has called for the opportunity to face Jones since capturing the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295 last November. It is important to note, however, that 'Bones' was booked to face Miocic on the card before tearing the tendon that connects the pectoral muscle to the bone. Both fighters, as well as UFC President Dana White, have noted that the bout will continue as planned when the heavyweight champion recovers.

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Tom Aspinall claims Ciryl Gane turned down UFC 304 bout

Dana White took to Instagram on Thursday to announce several fights for the UFC's upcoming trip to Manchester for UFC 304, including Tom Aspinall defending his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the No.1-ranked heavyweight revealed that Ciryl Gane turned down the bout as he is filming a movie, stating:

"The UFC wanted me to fight Ciryl Gane. I said, 'okay, the UFC wants to do it, we can do it, I'm not bothered'. I feel like I'm the champion of the world. I'm ranked No.1 in the world. I'll fight anybody. You don't have to talk me into anything... Ciryl, on the other hand, he's out there doing a film. Ciryl is trying to be the French Arnold Schwarzenegger right now and fair play to him... But he didn't take the fight. He wanted to do his film."

Check out Tom Aspinall's full comments on Ciryl Gane below:

Aspinall suffered the only loss of his UFC career when he faced Blaydes in the main event of UFC Fight Night 208. The bout lasted just 15 seconds, however, as he tore his MCL and meniscus, while also suffering damage to his ACL.