Aspinall: Miocic turned down fight at UFC 300

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall said Tuesday that Stipe Miocic opted not to fight him at UFC 300 on April 13.

In a series of tweets, Aspinall wrote that the promotion reached out and asked if he wanted to face Miocic at the landmark event in Las Vegas. Aspinall said he agreed to the matchup but was later told that Miocic was only interested in fighting heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

Jones was scheduled to face Miocic at UFC 295 last November but withdrew from his first heavyweight title defense due to an injury. That led to Aspinall capturing the vacant belt with a knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich at the same event. But since then, UFC CEO Dana White has been adamant about rebooking Jones-Miocic rather than a title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall (or an interim title fight between Aspinall and Miocic).

Aspinall ranted about the UFC's decision-making at the top of the heavyweight division earlier in January - and had previously called for the promotion to strip Jones of the title. However, he said Tuesday he's come to terms with Jones-Miocic being the next championship bout in the weight class.

Jones and Aspinall went back and forth on social media after the latter blasted the state of the division, with "Bones" telling the Englishman to "sit down and create your own legacy."

Jones, 36, is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history and has said he may retire after facing Miocic.