Jon Jones fires back at UFC fan telling him he's wasted Tom Aspinall's prime after 'announcing retirement'

Jon Jones has fired back at a UFC fan telling him he's 'wasted' Tom Aspinall's prime after 'announcing his retirement'.

The blockbuster UFC showdown between Jones and Aspinall has appeared to collapse following a stunning revelation.

'Bones' seemingly retired from the UFC as he issued a two-word message on his legendary fighting career.

Aspinall, who hasn't fought since his 60-second drubbing of Curtis Blaydes to defend his interim title last July, has been patiently waiting on the sidelines for a crack at undisputed UFC glory.

In doing so, the 32-year-old has been inactive during the prime of his MMA career, which has taken its toll on his mental state.

"Now, I’ve been almost a year inactive with no prospects of anything apart from wait," he told Demetrious Johnson.

Tom Aspinall looks on as Jon Jones speaks after his UFC 309 victory. Image: Getty

Aspinall added: "So now it’s actually a bit more of a tricky time for me mentally than it was then. Even people then were like, 'Are you OK? How are you dealing with coming back?' and stuff like that. I was like, yeah, I’m good. I’ve got this to look forward to, the doctor said I’ve got to do this in two weeks or in two months I can start grappling. I constantly had little goals to work towards. Whereas now it’s just like, 'Just be ready and we’ll just let you know'.

"It’s kind of difficult mentally, but this is the fight against Jon Jones. The fight is another thing, this is the tricky bit where I really have to stay switched on, stay motivated, and I’m trying my best. It’s tough sometimes."

Aspinall's inactivity was raised by a UFC fan, who slammed Jones for holding up his rival's career.

On social media, the fan wrote: "Bro rlly [sic] wasted Tom's prime like that no respect at all."

But Jones has no sympathy for what he has done, hitting back: "Cry more."

The 37-year-old clearly isn't bothered about the situation as he enjoys time away from the Octagon.

Aspinall stopped Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim UFC heavyweight title in a bout that was made following Jones pulling out of his bout against Stipe Miocic.

The Brit subsequently defended his strap against Blaydes while the American eventually fought Miocic, stopping him in the third round to defend his UFC heavyweight title.