Aspinall, from Manchester, was in New York all week making a nuisance of himself, but decided not to go to the press conference on Thursday evening. However, his presence was deeply felt and the mention of his name drew rapturous applause.

Jon Jones is seething after Dana White declared that the winner of UFC 309 will face Tom Aspinall

During the press conference for UFC 309, questions were asked of Dana White and the main event fighters about the status of a potential heavyweight title unification for the winner. The Briton not only won, but also defended his interim title since Jon Jones took the vacant title in March last year.

And when White responded that “the winner absolutely has to fight Tom,” the theater at Madison Square Garden erupted in support of Aspinall. But Jones appeared unimpressed and angrily told fans who were shouting for his rival to ‘take it out’.

It follows comments from White on The Jim Rome Show, where he stated that Jones will only fight in the UFC again if it is against Aspinall. The heavyweight champion has regularly claimed he would prefer to fight Alex Pereira, but the promotion boss believes this is not a fight he will take.

“If he wins, he will disappear for a while and the competitive spirit will bubble up again,” White said of Jones. ‘And then money will talk. If he doesn’t decide to retire, he’ll definitely be fighting Aspinall positively. He’s not fighting Pereira.

“He was a middleweight who moved up to light heavyweight. He is also a kickboxer who has done very well in MMA. His wrestling isn’t even close to Jon Jones’ level, and Jon Jones is much bigger than him. If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall.

Jon Jones has claimed he will never ‘do business’ with Tom Aspinall

However, the matchup doesn’t seem to appeal to Jones at all. Having defeated the best in light heavyweight before rising to become a second division champion, he is keen to cement his legacy by facing big names, even if they are not main opponents.

On top of that idea, he has also decided that Aspinall, as well as his vocal British fanbase, have been disrespectful in their attempts to earn a fight. He even labeled the famously polite Briton an ‘a**hole’ during an intense media day on Wednesday.

“If I’m completely honest, I feel like Tom has been such an asshole that I don’t want to do business with him,” Jones said. “His fans are so annoying. Obviously you can’t get that far in a career where you’re influenced by fans and the like.

‘But he’s just an asshole. He’s 31, so he belongs to the generation of influencers where you surf online and sell T-shirts and such. I’m past that kind of thing. I’m like, ‘Brother, if you had a little more respect, maybe we could have worked something out.’

“But I just don’t even want to do business with him. At the end of the day, this is a business. By fighting me, he gets the chance to change his life forever. And I don’t even want to give him the chance. Personally, he just played his cards wrong.’

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