Jon Jones slammed the door on any chance that he’ll ever fight Tom Aspinall but it turns out his reasoning is much more personal that he originally stated.

As he prepared for his return against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jones said numerous times that he wasn’t interested in Aspinall because the fight didn’t really do much in terms of his career or legacy. On Tuesday, Jones doubled down on why he’s not interested in Aspinall as an opponent but then he blasted the British born heavyweight for his attitude in trying to make the fight happen.

“If I’m being completely honest, I feel like Tom’s been such an assh*le that I don’t want to do business with him,” Jones said during UFC 309 media day. “His fans have been so annoying and obviously you don’t get this far in a career being affected by fans or what not, but he’s just an assh*le. He’s 30 so he’s from this influencer generation where you hop online with the t-shirt sales and all that. I’m past that type of stuff. I’m like bro if you had a little bit more respect then maybe we could have something out. I just don’t even want to do business with him.

“At the end of the day, this is a business. Fighting me gives him the opportunity to change his life forever. I don’t even want to give him the opportunity. He just played his cards wrong with me personally. I’m three years from being a 40-year-old grown man. The press conference, going through the whole shebang with him, I’d rather not do.”

Aspinall has been rather vocal about his disdain for Jones fighting Miocic on Saturday rather than facing him as the interim heavyweight champion. When he addressed the matchup on his YouTube channel just ahead of UFC 309, Aspinall called Jones and Miocic “two old farts” who are fighting for the “most disputed title” in the promotion right now.

What was largely an argument about competition has now turned into name calling with a whole lot of trash talk and Jones just wants no part of it.

On the flipside, Jones looks at a potential matchup against somebody like UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira that checks every box he wants as far as an opponent to keep him going after he faces Miocic on Saturday.

Pereira has already won titles in two different divisions in the UFC, he’s a former GLORY kickboxing champion and now arguably one of the biggest stars on the entire roster. Add to that, Jones feels like Pereira has been very respectful towards him and that might be the one trait that matters most right now.

“Pereira on the other side — respectful, cool, barely says much. I’ll do business with you,” Jones said. “I would risk it all with a human being like you. You actually have the accolades to back up your shit. The other guy is just a big mouth who’s hot today.

“There’s been so many guys who’s hot today who are just gone. Sergei [Pavlovich] was in the same position not too long ago and now he’s starting to fall off already. I’ve just been around this sport too long to give a big mouth who’s hot today the opportunity.”

As much as he dislikes Aspinall as a person, Jones understands the narrative being built up around the interim heavyweight champion as a serious threat to his nearly unblemished resume.

Maybe that’s true but Jones also knows there have been plenty of fighters just like that throughout his career who were supposed to be his equal.

“I get that Tom is an exciting fighter,” Jones said. “I get that finally after 16 years we found somebody who is seven years younger than me and 30 pounds bigger than me, we finally found someone who may give me a great challenge and everyone wants to see it so bad. For me, what’s in it for me? He changes nothing if I beat him.

“Beating Tom is just like beating Ciryl Gane. Has a whole country behind him, he’s hot right now — what happens to me after I beat him? Nothing changes for me.”

Jones can’t predict what happens after UFC 309 but assuming he gets through Miocic, he’s given the organization the fight and the opponent that would keep him around for a little while longer.

If the UFC is adamant on making the fight against Aspinall then Jones has no problem just calling it career and riding off into the sunset.

“The main goal is to get past Stipe. If I can do it in a really dominant, devastating fashion then the desire in my heart would be like OK, now it’s Alex Pereira,” Jones said. “If the UFC doesn’t want that to happen because ultimately it’s the boss’ decision, then it won’t happen and I’ll just move on with my life.

“One of the ways I look at it is would you guys rather lose me or get one more super fight and the only super fight that makes sense to me — not to everyone else but to me and my team — is Alex Pereira.”