Morning Report | Robert Whittaker over Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall saga: ‘Honestly, who cares now?’

Robert Whittaker is on the same page with a growing number of MMA fans when it comes to whether or not Jon Jones will fight Tom Aspinall: Can we all just move on?

Aspinall, the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion, has been stuck in an interminable holding period as he waits for Jones, the “undisputed” champion, to make a decision on if he plans to continue fighting. At the moment, Jones appears to be content traveling the world and leaving cryptic messages about his competitive status, while Aspinall just hopes to book another championship fight soon, no matter the opponent.

On his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker essentially shrugged his shoulders when asked for his thoughts on the never-ending Jones-Aspinall saga, suggesting that the ship has most likely sailed.

“Honestly, who cares now?” Whittaker said. “I’m done. I’m done with waiting. It’s like Elder Scrolls 6, it’s just like, you’ve got to play something else, man. I’m done and honestly, everyone nagging him and poking at him and trying to get clips and stuff is worse for me. It’s way worse for me, I’m done with that, too. I’m just done.

“I don’t know how Jones still holds the title. Like, I know I’ve mentioned when we first started speaking about this many moons ago, how I was like, ‘No one’s stripping Jones. You can’t do that to him.’ But mate, come on, you’re taking the piss now.”

Jones’ reputation was built in the 205-pound division, which he ruled over for the better part of a decade while knocking off a laundry list of some of MMA’s biggest names. After a three-year layoff, he moved up to heavyweight in 2023 and captured a vacant title (incumbent champion Francis Ngannou parted ways with the UFC over a contract dispute) by running through Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, then successfully defended it against heavyweight legend Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

Despite his past accomplishments, critics have questioned why Jones refuses to fight Aspinall, who is 8-1 in the UFC with one successful defense of his interim title already in the books. Should Jones be out of the picture, Aspinall would likely be promoted to undisputed status and there are a few names that could potentially face him, such as Gane or Jailton Almeida.

For what it’s worth, Whittaker would like for Aspinall and Gane to settle their longstanding beef.

“I’m keen to see Gane,” Whittaker said. “I’m curious to see how that fight plays out. Does it become a kickboxing match, or does Aspinall get a takedown and take him to where Gane’s very uncomfortable? Because Aspinall’s ground is very good.”

Option. Jailton Almeida is looking outside of the heavyweight division with the title picture currently in stasis.

Madman. Chael Sonnen has issued a publicly apology to a couple he had a physical confrontation with at a Las Vegas Hotel in 2021.

Unclear. Former UFC champion Miesha Tate hasn’t made a decision on the future of her fighting career.

Predictable. Nate Diaz is off of a Russian reality TV series after being involved in a wild brawl.

Mike Heck on Submission Radio!

It’s been quite a ride to the top for Jack Della Maddalena.

Daniel Cormier defends his boy Islam Makhachev.

A wild one.

Listen to Khabib!

Not sure how I feel about this.

Be gentle.

You can, too.

Receipts.

Mr. Whittaker, or “The Reaper” as some call you, you speak for all of us.

And on a more personal note…

COME ON YOU SPURS

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