Tom Aspinall has sided firmly with Jon Jones in the aftermath of the former light heavyweight king asking to be released from his UFC contract, arguing that the promotion has failed to match Jones’ achievements with appropriate pay and respect. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the heavyweight champion said he finds it “crazy” that a fighter with Jones’ résumé still has to haggle over money with the organization.
Reacting to Jones’ public request for his release after failed talks around a June “UFC Freedom 250” event on the White House South Lawn, Aspinall framed the dispute as a pay‑and‑respect issue rather than simple negotiation tactics.
Tom Aspinall says it’s crazy Jon Jones still has to fight for respect from the UFC
“This is probably going to sound crazy to a lot of people listening, but why is the UFC not giving Jon the respect he deserves financially?” Aspinall said, before repeating that “if anybody should be getting money in this sport, it’s Jon Jones.” He pointed to Jones’ decade‑plus run as a pay‑per‑view headliner, saying, “We’re talking about Conor McGregor and Jon Jones, those are the guys who’ve brought in revenue for over 10 years. They need to be getting paid what they deserve.”
Aspinall’s comments dropped after Jones claimed he took stem cell treatment and was preparing to start camp for the White House card, only for negotiations to stall and UFC boss Dana White to publicly downplay the talks. Jones accused White of twisting the story and asked to be released, saying he is tired of what he sees as bad‑faith comments about his willingness to fight. White, for his part, has insisted there was “no way in hell” Jones was going to headline that event and has repeatedly questioned his reliability when speaking to reporters.
Tom Aspinall’s defence of Jon Jones also comes from his own rocky history with the UFC, including past comments where Dana White questioned his resolve to continue fighting after he was fouled. For Jones, the current standoff goes well beyond a pay dispute: behind the scenes he is said to be furious about feeling talked down to and “devalued” in public interviews, from White repeatedly casting doubt on his reliability.
Jones’ release demand reads less like a pure negotiation gambit and more like a response to what he sees as a pattern of being belittled in front of fans and media, while a fellow heavyweight like Aspinall now finds himself navigating some of the same tensions with the promotion’s leadership.
For Aspinall, who has spent much of the past two years fielding questions about a potential fight with Jones, the latest dispute reinforces a long‑running debate about UFC economics. Ariel Helwani has previously reported that Jones floated a 30 million dollar figure for an Aspinall fight and argued on his show that such a number would be “cheap” compared to what UFC has paid McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov for mega‑events.
Aspinall has acknowledged that Jones, as a long‑time champion and proven draw, is in a position to demand more than most and has said he “doesn’t blame” him for pushing for a bigger payday late in his career.
Those remarks carry extra weight in a moment where Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing is paying reported eight‑figure money to lure names like British welterweight Conor Benn for single‑fight deals, while UFC champions continue to argue that their pay lags behind their value.
