Brett OkamotoNov 5, 2025, 10:39 PM ET
- Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones believes Tom Aspinall is a "one-trick pony" based on Aspinall's abbreviated title fight against Ciryl Gane last month.
Aspinall (15-3) saw his first official title defense end in a no-contest at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 when he was unable to continue after an accidental eye poke by Gane in the first round. The bout lasted only 4 minutes, 35 seconds, but Jones indicated he was far more impressed with Gane, whom he submitted to win the heavyweight title in March 2023, than he was with Aspinall.
"Tom's a great athlete, but I do feel like he's a one-trick pony," Jones told the "NoScripts" podcast on Wednesday. "I believe that his wrestling and jiu-jitsu is incredibly overrated. He has a beautiful one-two [combination]. 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.
"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."
Jones (28-1) was tied to a potential title unification matchup with Aspinall during the first half of 2025 but ultimately announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in June instead. He has since expressed interest in a comeback, stating he wants to fight current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at the UFC's planned event at the White House next year. He has not expressed interest in facing Aspinall.
The UFC intends to rebook the championship matchup between Aspinall and Gane, according to UFC CEO Dana White. However, Aspinall is still dealing with the effects of the eye poke. According to the latest updates from his father and head coach, Aspinall has not regained full vision in either eye. His right eye was initially more compromised than the left, although the eye poke did impact both.
