Jones says he could fight Aspinall after Miocic: 'I can't just walk away'

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones might have multiple fights left in him.

Jones told Submission Radio that he's still undecided on his future and that a bout against interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall is a possibility after he faces Stipe Miocic.

"I'm really going to base whether I continue to fight on how I compete against Stipe, how I heal up from this injury," said Jones, who withdrew from a fight against Miocic last November after suffering a torn pec in training. "I could blow Stipe out of the water or it could be an absolute war. And I feel like I need to take one step at a time before seeing what I do next.

"But the Tom fight is definitely not off the table, especially with how I've been feeling being out here (on tour in Australia). I feel just totally reinvigorated and just reenergized just being around all these fans. So I can't just walk away. The ball is rolling in a very positive direction for the career to continue."

Jones previously said retirement was a possibility after the Miocic fight - originally scheduled to headline UFC 295 at New York's Madison Square Garden - and that he didn't see the point in fighting a new-breed heavyweight like Aspinall. Jones, who held the light heavyweight title for years before moving up to heavyweight in 2023, is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. The fight against Miocic is a legacy matchup for both men, as Miocic is a former two-time champ and the most accomplished heavyweight in UFC history.

Aspinall captured the interim heavyweight belt last November with a knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich in a fight that the UFC booked after the Jones-Miocic cancellation. Aspinall, a 30-year-old Englishman whom many consider the future of the division, has called for a fight with either Jones or Miocic in the months since. But UFC CEO Dana White has remained firm on his plans to reschedule Jones-Miocic once Jones is healthy.

Jones, who has gone back and forth with Aspinall on social media in recent months, acknowledged that the interim champ is a viable contender. But Jones is still unsure what will happen after the Miocic fight.

"A lot of people don’t really acknowledge that, that there always will be another awesome contender," Jones said. "It's the UFC's job, is to build the next big thing. And it's my job to realize when you are enough and you have done enough, you've provided for your family, you've created the life for your people. And so I don't know. I really don't know what's going to be next. I'm just taking it one thing at a time.

"That's my respect to Stipe, is just to take it one thing at a time, and to respect him as the challenge that he will be."