‘Knock it off’ – Jones closes out Aspinall’s chants

Jon Jones told fans to “just stop it” as they shouted Tom Aspinall’s name at the press conference promoting UFC 309 in New York on Saturday.

Jones is set to defend his heavyweight title against fellow American Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden, but it’s interim champion Aspinall who dominates the narrative this week.

Fans chanted “Tommy, Tommy” while UFC president Dana White said the winner “absolutely has to fight Aspinall.”

Jones, 37, has spent much of fight week brushing aside questions about Aspinall, saying he had no interest in fighting the 31-year-old Briton.

White made his comments while standing next to Jones, who broke into a smile as the crowd began chanting in response.

“I have no reaction. Right now I’m focused on Saturday. That’s the most important thing for me right now,” said Jones of White.

“I had a very long press conference yesterday. I feel like I told everyone exactly how I felt (about Aspinall).”

Aspinall came in on seventeen days’ notice to beat the Russian Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title a year ago after an injury forced Jones out of his original fight with Miocic.

But instead of scheduling a unification title fight, Jones was rebooked against the 42-year-old Miocic.

Jones said he won’t fight Aspinall because “it doesn’t do anything for my legacy,” before using an expletive to describe him.

Aspinall, the main event’s backup fighter, has ridiculed Jones in an attempt to lure him into an uncontested fight by buying his dog a rubber toy duck after fans claimed Jones was “dodging” him.

Aspinall then shared a post on social media in which he wore a T-shirt that read “Hello Jon”, and “I have nothing against you personally, I just think I’m better than you”.

While Jones smiled and joked onstage with a raucous crowd, the endless talk about Aspinall has irritated the two-weight UFC champion.

He left an interview with TNT Sports before it started because he feared he would have to ask more questions about Aspinall to the British broadcaster.

Jones, the youngest UFC champion in the company’s history, was hailed by White on stage as the greatest ever.

He has just one defeat to his name, a 2009 disqualification loss to Matt Hamill.

“As long as this guy is active, he’s the best,” White said.

Miocic mostly kept his answers short.

The Ohio fighter is a two-time heavyweight champion and widely considered the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, but is a big underdog in his fight against Jones.

He hasn’t fought since defeat against Francis Ngannou in 2021, but victory over Jones would mean he becomes the promotion’s first three-time heavyweight champion.

After Jones took exception to the language he used in an interview, saying “respect was out of the question,” Miocic dismissed his opponent’s complaints.

“(Jones) called me and said he was going to beat me up in front of an entire arena. Sorry for defending myself,” Miocic said.

The confrontation passed without major incident, although Jones declined Miocic’s offer of a handshake.

More MMA from the BBC