Tom Aspinall is no longer the UFC heavyweight champion. And Jon Jones, the man who once refused to fight him for that same belt, had no sympathy to offer.
“"I don't want to hold the heavyweight division up."”
On Monday, Aspinall announced on Instagram that he was vacating the heavyweight title, ending a reign that was defined less by what happened inside the cage than by what happened to his eyes. Aspinall's problems began on October 25, 2025, at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, when his first undisputed title defense against Ciryl Gane ended as a no-contest after Gane's fingers went into both of Aspinall's eyes in the opening round. Since then, the 33-year-old Englishman has undergone multiple surgeries and dealt with repeated setbacks — most recently a training accident that caused further damage to his right eye while he was sparring again and preparing for a rematch with Gane.
"Ongoing complications with my eyes mean I cannot get medically cleared to fight right now," Aspinall wrote. "I've had multiple surgeries, accidents and infections, and done everything possible to get back to competing."
He was explicit that this was not retirement. "I'm not done," he wrote, adding that the UFC and its medical team have seen "the tests, procedures and medical information relating to my eyes."
But Jones, reading the same announcement, saw something else entirely.
"MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY"
On X, Jones replied to a fan post claiming that Aspinall's injury "wasn't that big of a deal" and that Aspinall knew he couldn't beat Gane, so he "took the easy way out." Jones's response: "My sentiments exactly." He then reacted to another post arguing that Aspinall never deserved the undisputed title to begin with. "Ouch," Jones wrote. And he responded "Dude you are on fire" to a post comparing Aspinall's situation to Jones's own first-round demolition of Gane — a not-so-subtle suggestion that Aspinall quit where Jones never would have.
WHERE WAS THAT URGENCY A YEAR AGO?
Here is the problem with Jones as Aspinall's critic. Jones retired in June 2025 and relinquished the heavyweight title rather than unify with Aspinall, who was then the interim champion. The Briton held that interim belt for the better part of a year and a half while the division waited on Jones. Jones has since admitted he turned down $30 million to fight Aspinall.
Aspinall's injury, meanwhile, is not in dispute. His surgeries happened. His infections happened. Dana White himself had only just floated the idea of stripping him before Aspinall decided to walk away from the belt on his own terms, saying he didn't want to hold the division up. Nobody outside Aspinall's medical team can say honestly whether he could have returned safely. What we do know is that he gave up the title rather than freeze the division — the opposite of what his loudest critic did a year ago.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
Aspinall's exit cleared the way for interim champion Ciryl Gane — who won that belt by finishing Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 in June. White first said Gane would not simply be handed the undisputed crown — then the UFC promoted him anyway. Gane defends the undisputed title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on November 14.
And then there is Jones himself. Gable Steveson told reporters at UFC 331 media day in Los Angeles that the retired champion is "honored" at the chance to come back now that the belt is open again. "I think Jon would like to come back also," Steveson said. "Maybe seeing this belt open up put another fire into him."
Maybe Jones is right that the division needs to keep moving. But if this is about protecting the heavyweight championship, the question stands: where was that same urgency when Tom Aspinall was waiting for Jon Jones?
