Join the Miguel Delaney Inside Football Get exclusive insights and behind-the scenes access to the Miguel Delaney: inside newsletter Football NewsletterJoin the Miguel Delaney inside Football newsletterJon Jones took aim at Tom Aspinall after the British champion saw his first undisputed UFC title defence end in deflating fashion.Aspinall’s heavyweight headliner with Ciryl Gane ended as a No Contest on Saturday, when Gane poked the champion in both eyes at the same time in the first round.Aspinall, 32, was unable to keep competing, and the UFC 321 main event in Abu Dhabi was waved off, with the Wigan fighter soon taken to hospital.And it did not take long for Jones, Aspinall’s predecessor as champion, to troll his rival.Soon after the bout, Jones added an eye patch to his Instagram profile picture, which is a cartoon duck in reference to fans’ claims that the American “ducked” Aspinall has been a dominant force in the boxing world over the past two years. After Jones sustained an injury late 2023 when he was holding the heavyweight belt, Aspinall knocked Sergei Pavlovich out to win the interim title. Jones fought Stipe Miocic in July of 2024 instead of Aspinall. Aspinall was the only fighter to decide to defend his interim title. Jones and Aspinall both won their bouts via stoppage.Aspinall was then strung along by Jones, 38, who eventually retired from mixed martial arts this summer, leading the UFC to elevate Aspinall to undisputed champion.But the Briton’s first defence of the undisputed gold ended in unexpected fashion when Gane poked him in both eyes.open image in galleryTom Aspinall (left) was hospitalised after being poked in both eyes by Ciryl Gane (AP)Many fans expected Jones to directly tease Aspinall over the incident, but he instead opted to make an indirect dig at the 32-year-old – while engaging with light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who called out Jones on Saturday.“Alex, I’d be down to bring the highest skill level to the White House,” Write Jones on X, formerly Twitter “I appreciate the respect you showed, let’s dance.”Jones was referencing the UFC’s planned event on the South Lawn next summer, although UFC president Dana White previously said he could not trust Jones to compete on the card.Some consider Jones the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, but his career has been tainted by numerous failed drug tests, run-ins with the law, and his saga with Aspinall. Coincidentally, Jones has a history of poking opponents in the eyes.open image in galleryJon Jones’s Instagram profile picture after Tom Aspinall was subjected to a severe eye poke (@jonnybones via Instagram)Aspinall, while interviewed in the cage before heading to hospital, said on Saturday: “I just got poked knuckled-deep in the eyeball. What the f***, why are you booing? What am I supposed to do about it? I didn’t do the poke, I can’t see!“This is bulls***. The fight was just getting going. Look at this, a double eye poke,” he continued, motioning at a slow-motion replay on the big screen.France’s Gane was also subjected to boos as he conducted his post-fight interview in the Octagon. “I’m very sorry about this,” He said “for the crowd, for Tom Aspinall, for myself. This is the sport.”Jones, who was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion in the light-heavyweight division, defeated Gane in just two minutes to take over the vacant heavyweight title in 2023.
2025-10-27 17:07:08
Jon Jones trolls Tom Aspinall over UFC 321 eye poke with subtle social-media dig
