Daniel Cormier believes Jon Jones might have to settle for a little bit less than he’s expecting to be paid for a much-anticipated grudge match with Tom Aspinall.
Jones and Aspinall have been locked into fight rumors for over a year now, with Jones holding the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight title and Aspinall reigning as interim champion. This tricky situation developed in November 2023, when Aspinall was booked to fight Sergei Pavlovich for the interim belt at UFC 295 after an injury caused the postponement of Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, which eventually took place at UFC 309.
Plenty of public negotiations have occurred between the two, with Jones stating flatly that he wants “f*ck you money” to face Aspinall, who Jones has consistently dismissed as a worthy challenger despite the British star’s 8-1 UFC record. Commentator Joe Rogan recently mentioned on his podcast that he heard Jones is asking for $30 million to fight Aspinall, a rumor that Cormier addressed on a recent podcast.
Cormier pointed to the announced $16 million Madison Square Garden gate of UFC 309 as justification for Jones’ demand, even if he thinks the actual payday could fall short of that mark.
“Now when you start looking at it like that, you start going, I don’t know if his ask is as crazy as people are saying,” Cormier said on his YouTube. “You can do 16 mil at the gate, you can do whatever you do on pay-per-view, you’ve got sponsorships for the fight night, those aren’t yours, you are bringing them on, but there are sponsors on fight night, now that ask is not so crazy.
“Rogan thinks the UFC will pay the $30 million to get Jon Jones in there with Tom Aspinall. I’m not sure he gets to 30, but if you ask for 30 and you get 20 or you get 15, that’s a win for Jon Jones on his way out. Especially living in Albuquerque, where everything is so dang cheap, he’s not living in California.”
Daniel Cormier doubts Jon Jones earns $30M for Tom Aspinall fight, but calls Jones’ strategy ‘very smart’ - MMA Fighting
