‘I would love to have the honor’: Tom Aspinall surprises Jon Jones at Arnold’s Sports Festival

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Tom Aspinall continues to campaign for a fight vs. Jon Jones and Saturday he decided to make his pitch directly to the UFC heavyweight champion’s face.

Both heavyweight stars were on the docket for sponsorship appearances at Arnold’s Sports Festival UK in Birmingham, England, so Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) made it his mission to seek out Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) for a quick chat and photo opportunity.

A video released hours later by Aspinall shows his interaction with Jones, who seemed a bit surprised by the sudden emergence of a fellow heavyweight.

The conversation was brief with Jones removing the hand of Aspinall off his shoulder. While the conversation remained respectful, Jones declined Aspinall’s suggestion to take a faceoff picture. Instead, the two fighters took normally posed photo.

“I would love to have the honor one day,” Aspinall said to Jones.

Jones replied, “Maybe one day,” before he told Aspinall his injury is healing slowly but surely.

While Jones’ exact return timeline is unknown, the promotion has continually indicated his next challenger will be fellow legend Stipe Miocic.

Aspinall holds the interim title and does not currently have a fight on the books. The promotion is expected to return to Aspinall’s United Kingdom in July, though it is not known if it will be a pay-per-view or a UFC Fight Night event.