Jon Jones Tears Into Tom Aspinall on Podcast After Ciryl Gane Performance

Jon Jones has delivered a scathing assessment of Tom Aspinall after his bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321, describing his wrestling and jiu-jitsu ability as "incredibly overrated".

Aspinall's first defence of his undisputed heavyweight title ended abruptly in round one, when he was accidentally poked in both eyes by Gane.

The Salford-born fighter was given time to recover, but the bout was eventually declared a no-contest after Aspinall informed the doctor that he could not see.

In fact, the 32-year-old had no vision in his right eye three days after headlining UFC 321, according to his dad. "His left eye's about 50%, so one's really blurry and one's still not working," said Andy Aspinall.

Aspinall is said to have visited an eye specialist in Manchester shortly after returning home.

With the outcome of last month's fight still a talking point, Jon Jones has now given his take on the contest, as well as the overall ability of Tom Aspinall, as he appeared on the NoScripts.Podcast.

Jomes, who submitted Ciryl Gane to win the heavyweight title in March 2023, said his former opponent was on top in the early stages.

He also described Aspinall as a "one-trick pony" whose wrestling and jiu-jitsu ability is "incredibly overrated."

Speaking on Wednesday, he said: "Tom's a great athlete, but I do feel like he's a one-trick pony. I believe that his wrestling and jiu-jitsu is incredibly overrated. He has a beautiful one-two [combination]."

Jones added: "I got to learn a lot about his patterns in his last fight. That's really about it. That's the one thing that he's setting up real nice."

Touching on Gane's performance, the former champion added: "He couldn't touch Ciryl Gane at all, that's the way I felt. I felt Gane was just getting warmed up. Gane's hands were down, he was shaking his shoulders, bouncing around, touching him. He was so comfortable."

Jon Jones speaks about potential UFC White House opponent during podcast

Ahead of UFC 321, two-time UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira confirmed that he wants to make the step up to heavyweight and fight Jon Jones on the White House card, which is scheduled to take place on June 14, 2026.

When asked about the possibility of taking on the winner of the heavyweight title fight on UFC's Last Fight show, Pereira replied: "No, I want a superfight. It would be at the White House against Jon Jones. That's a superfight."

Pereira has spoken of his desire to face Jones on more than one occasion, and after the UFC 321 card, Jones confirmed his desire to face the light-heavyweight champ. "Alex, I’d be down to bring the highest skill level to the White House," he said on X.

Now, Jones has described Pereira as the perfect opponent to fight at the UFC White House event.

"He's a household name in America and in MMA," Jones said on the NoScripts.Podcast. "Everybody knows who he is. He's a champion and is in the conversation of being one of the greatest fighters of all time."