Tom Aspinall defended Jon Jones in his falling out with UFC and Dana White, questioning why he isn’t get paid what he deserves. 

Jones had said ahead of last weekend that he was in negotiations with the UFC to return and fight on the White House card in June. But then after UFC 326, White poured cold water on that and said he was never being considered for the event, dismissing it as “bulls***” before saying Jones was done in the sport. 

Those comments prompted Jones to follow up, saying he was lowballed in the negotiations – which he maintains were ongoing – and concluding that, if the sentiment is that he is done, he would like his release from the promotion. 

Aspinall, who was promoted to Lineal Heavyweight Champion last year after Jones was stripped of the title, reacted to the development during an interview with Ariel Helwani. 

“This is gonna probably be crazy to a lot of people listening, why is the UFC not giving Jon the respect he deserves financially? That’s crazy to me,” he said. “If anyone should be getting paid in this sport, it should be Jon Jones. For the stuff that he’s done. And that’s me saying that. After the history I’ve had with Jones.”

Aspinall had spent much of his time as Interim Heavyweight Champion calling for a unification fight with Jones. But Jones continually dismissed the idea of fighting him, feeling he should be able to choose his next opponent and wanting to face at-time Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira in his move up the classes. 

Aspinall was confused why Jones was offered $30 million to fight him and then not offered a comparable fee for his return. 

“They offered him 30 million to fight me, so why have they not offered it again?” He asked. “Those guys, Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and guys like that. Those are the guys who brought in the revenue for over 10 years. They need to be getting what they deserve.”