Tom Aspinall has confirmed his return to the Octagon this year.
The Atherton fighter has been out of the cage since July 2024, when he stopped Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds.
Unfortunately, however, it doesn’t appear Aspinall’s next fight will be against Jon Jones, who fought as recently as November with a dominant third-round knockout of Stipe Miocic.
The pair have only come face to face once, when Aspinall surprised Jones at a meet and greet.
The Englishman has since voiced new frustrations with his 37-year-old rival, in which he also outlined his plans for the rest of 2025.
Tom Aspinall claims Jon Jones is ‘retired’ as he moves on to new targets
Speaking on his YouTube series Fight Lab, the 32-year-old claimed the heavyweight champion is retired.
He said: “I think it is pretty clear to see Jon Jones is retired and doesn’t want to fight me, so we wish him all the best in the future of course.
“But we want this heavyweight division active; we want to give these contenders a chance to fight.”
Rumours of their potential clash have swirled on the internet for over a year.
Instead, Aspinall wants to focus on staying active and moving the division forward.
“We want to have a defending champion don’t we? Why is this division so stagnant? Let’s make the heavyweight division great again,” he said.
“I’m ready to fight, I want to get two fights in before the end of the year so that’s what we are doing.
“We finally have some movement.”
Tom Aspinall’s potential opponents for 2025
With two fights lined up for the heavyweight sensation, Aspinall will be a difficult opponent to match.
In a nine-fight career with the organisation, he has been able to dispatch five of the top 10 ranked heavyweights in devastating fashion.
The first viable contender for him is a man who he has never faced before: Ciryl Gane.
| #1 Tom Aspinall |
| #2 Ciryl Gane |
| #3 Alexander Volkov |
| #4 Sergei Pavlovich |
| #5 Curtis Blaydes |
| #6 Jailton Almeida |
| #7 Serghei Spivac |
| #8 Marcin Tybura |
| #9 Derrick Lewis |
| #10 Tai Tuivasa |
A former interim champion himself, Gane has clashed with the big names, including Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou.
This fight would be a solid headliner on a numbered card, but also give the number one heavyweight on the planet a chance to cement his legacy.
Jailton Almeida, who has lost to Blaydes, could also step in with a two-fight win streak, including a first-round finish of Serghei Spivac.
With Jones out of the picture, Dana White has to consider options for a seemingly unstoppable heavyweight juggernaut.