Jon Jones continues to frustrate fans with his apparent reluctance to face interim titleholder Tom Aspinall. The UFC heavyweight champion hasn’t fought since his bout with Stipe Miocic in November and is currently enjoying an extended stay in Thailand. Meanwhile, a new development has prompted the son of boxing legend Mike Tyson to publicly criticize ‘Bones’ for his lack of commitment.

As all this is going on, a petition to strip the 37-year-old of his UFC title has reached 170,000 verified signatures. In the UK, this means the matter would have to be discussed in parliament since the petition has reached the 100,000 mark. Meanwhile, UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently reported that Jon Jones is demanding an unprecedented $30 million payday to face Tom Aspinall—a figure the UFC has reportedly agreed to.

However, Rogan later walked back those claims, suggesting UFC president Dana White had clarified that no such agreement had been made with the 37-year-old. That brings us to the latest development, which has shocked fans on social media. Earlier today, several reports emerged on social media, highlighting quotes from MMA journalist Ariel Helwani about the Jones-Aspinall fight.

“Jones demanded a huge payout, the UFC agreed, but he didn’t expect it—so he refused again. That’s what happened,” the post read. It was based on what Ariel Helwani said on his YouTube show a few days ago. “He(Jones) gave them(UFC) a number. They met the number. He said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ That’s what happened,” Helwani revealed. The Instagram post quickly attracted attention from Mike Tyson’s son, Amir J. Tyson, on Instagram. Amir was quick to make his feelings known about the situation.

“This is getting ridiculous and indefensible, and who’s also my favorite fighter in the UFC by far,” Amir J Tyson wrote in his Instagram story. In the meantime, Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones seemed to have exchanged some heavy words on social media. 

Tom Aspinall fires back at Jon Jones

Tom Aspinall has responded to Jon Jones’ recent comments with a calm but cutting remark, escalating tensions over their long-delayed title unification bout. After Jones hosted a seminar in Phuket and sarcastically thanked Aspinall for “all the free promo,” the interim heavyweight champion fired back, “My pleasure, Jon. Told you I’m not an a**hole. Glad you’re enjoying retirement.”

Jones, who has hinted at retirement while vacationing in Thailand, claimed he’s “beyond grateful” for his new UK fanbase, even encouraging them to “sign that petition today, we’re pushing 200k!” Aspinall believes money is the real issue holding up the fight. “I think it’s just down to money on his side,” he said. “I’m literally the most dangerous guy in the UFC if you look at the stats.”

Having said that, if the quote from Helwani is true, Jon Jones might just be afraid of facing Aspinal, and fans will miss out on the epic unification fight everyone’s been craving for so long. Do you think the fight will ever happen?