Phil De Fries, a world champion sparring partner of Tom Aspinall, has weighed in on the highly anticipated UFC heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones. According to De Fries, Jones has no intention of vacating his title to face Aspinall.
De Fries believes that Jones is motivated by sponsorship money and sees no reason for him to fight Aspinall. “I don’t think it’s gonna happen,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow. “Jon gets a lot of money being the champion, and I think he’s dragging it along and keeping the belt as long as possible because it’s worth that much money to him.”
However, De Fries thinks Aspinall has what it takes to win against Jones. He predicts that Aspinall could finish Jones early in the fight, citing his size advantage over Jones. “Tom would be the best boxer Jon has ever fought,” De Fries said. “I imagine if he did fight him, he would try to ignore him for the first two rounds… and get Tom tired.”
De Fries also highlighted Aspinall’s endurance, stating that he can go the distance against a formidable opponent like Jones. The Englishman believes that Aspinall could be the favorite in the fight and is confident that he has what it takes to beat Jones.
The highly anticipated fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall remains uncertain, with De Fries’ comments leaving fans wondering if we’ll ever see this clash of titans in the Octagon.
Source: https://bloodyelbow.com/2025/06/18