Tom Aspinall shares honest health update, admits brutal reality behind UFC inactivity ahead of potential Jon Jones fight

Tom Aspinall has admitted that although he is eager to secure a fight with Jon Jones, the delay in the fight being made has stood the interim heavyweight champion in good stead.

The reality for fighters, particularly at the top level such as the UFC, is that they are almost always carrying some sort of injury. Very seldom would a fighter enter a fight at 100% health, due to the stress and wear-and-tear that training camps and combat sports put their bodies through.

During a recent YouTube video, Aspinall shared a list of health struggles he had been dealing with for an extended period of time. The Mancunian said:

"But this year I have actually been ill more times than I've ever been ill in my life. We're in April. I got an illness, I got a virus just before Christmas. Basically I've had it on-and-off since... I've probably not rested enough... It has made me look in-depth medically with what's going on because I keep picking up viruses."

He continued:

"I've had in-depth blood tests. I've had a metabolism test, I've had a full body scan just to try and get to the bottom of what's going on. I've had sinusitis, I've had strep. This has come up in my results as well. I've had a fever plenty of times... Even though, I've not been active, looking back, it's probably a pretty good job that I haven't been active because I haven't been functioning at 100% for a while."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (4:55):

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Chael Sonnen claims Tom Aspinall's next fight won't be against Jon Jones

Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall both hold UFC titles in the heavyweight division. Jones holds the 'undisputed' title, whilst Aspinall holds the interim title. Usually, if a division has an 'undisputed' and an interim champion, a title unification bout is organized, with one champion emerging.

However, the UFC has not done that as of yet. 'Bones' defended his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, while Aspinall defended his interim belt at UFC 304. According to the Mancunian, the promotion is working hard to schedule a clash between himself and Jones.

But according to Chael Sonnen, Aspinall will fight Ciryl Gane next. In a recent video posted on his Instagram handle, Sonnen said:

"You guys probably haven't heard this. You're probably getting this right from me... Tom Aspinall versus Ciryl Gane, are you ready? Are you ready? For the interim championship. Now, I will back the moves."

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below: