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Brett OkamotoJun 2, 2025, 03:34 PM ET
- Brett Okamoto has reported connected mixed martial arts and boxing astatine ESPN since 2010. He has covered each of the biggest events successful combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names specified arsenic Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was besides a shaper connected the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked backmost astatine the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives successful Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer successful his spare time.
As acold arsenic interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is concerned, Jon Jones is officially retired.
Aspinall (15-3), appearing connected ESPN's "Good Guy/Bad Guy" connected Monday, said he's looking to determination connected from a imaginable unification bout against Jones (28-1).
UFC CEO Dana White has referred to the imaginable matchup betwixt Jones, the undisputed champ, and Aspinall arsenic "the biggest combat successful heavyweight history," but Jones has been noncommittal connected his involvement and Aspinall, who has not fought since defending his interim rubric successful July 2024, is intelligibly sick of waiting around.
"Those guys [Jon Jones' camp] person been waiting astir excessively long. The contenders are getting sick of it. Everybody's getting sick of it. Even the fans are getting sick of this stuff. So, Jon's retired and it's clip that we determination on." UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall"Jon Jones is retired," Aspinall said. "I privation to accidental God bless him moving guardant successful what helium does with his beingness and career. We determination on. I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I'm acceptable to instrumentality connected each comers and get this part moving again.
"Those guys person been waiting astir excessively long. The contenders are getting sick of it. Everybody's getting sick of it. Even the fans are getting sick of this stuff. So, Jon's retired and it's clip that we determination on."
Other than White antecedently expressing optimism, the UFC has not made immoderate caller comments connected the presumption of the imaginable fight. To Aspinall's constituent regarding the division, astir nary of the top-ranked heavyweights presently person a combat booked.
"The different guys don't privation to combat anybody due to the fact that they mightiness beryllium adjacent themselves," Aspinall said. "Everybody other is frightened to fight. Nobody wants to marque the adjacent move. The part is wholly stuck. I americium sick of the part being stuck. I'm there. I'm active. I'm getting amended each the time. Just instrumentality maine in. I'm acceptable to combat each of them."
Aspinall went connected to accidental his adjacent determination should beryllium announced "soon," successful conjunction with the UFC.
Jones, 37, is wide considered to beryllium the top combatant of each time. He moved up from the airy heavyweight part successful March 2023 and won the undisputed heavyweight rubric by submitting Ciryl Gane. He has lone fought erstwhile since claiming the belt, signaling a TKO rubric defence against Stipe Miocic successful November.
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