UFC Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has squashed the idea off a title defence against Tom Aspinall after UFC 309.
UFC 309 is headlined by the heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. The bout is a controversial contest as it clearly goes against the UFC model of the best fighting the best. Miocic although regarded as the greatest ever Heavyweight has been inactive for almost four years and his last fight was a devastating KO defeat against Francis Ngannou. Those factors are evidence enough he does not deserve a shot for the title. For Jones he continues to mention legacy and this fight has been labelled a legacy fight by all. Fans hoped that the real heavyweight title fight materialised after this legacy fight concluded but that possibility now looks non-existent. Aspinall has won and defended the interim belt since the last UFC appearance of Jones and many believe he is the true champion.
Jon Jones With Kevin Iole
The champion spoke with veteran journalist Kevin Iole and spoke on future matchups. When asked about defending against Aspinall, Jones was quick to dismiss the Englishman.
” More than likely not. I feel like Tom Aspinall is, I don’t want to say nobody, but he just hasn’t proven anything. He hasn’t done anything, and I understand that. I mean, he won his belt against Sergei and Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else. I’m not here to gamble someone else making a name off of me.” Quotes via KevinIole. Even with the boss Dana White stating that he believes whoever wins the fight will fight the interim champion, it is hard to envision with Jones blatantly walking past the challenge.
The champion was quick to bring up another name as a possibly tempting matchup. “If there were to be a fight against somebody still on the UFC roster that would not only be financially worth it but legacy worth it, it would be Alex Pereira.” Although he is one of the biggest stars in the sport and one of the most impressive champions on the roster, Pereira has a clear whole in his game that Jones could potentially exploit very easily. It reinforces the idea that Jones is intimidated by the prospect of Aspinall tainting an ‘unbeaten’ legacy.
Tom Aspinall Responds
Since getting himself into the title conversations at heavyweight Aspinall has become vocal and active on social media. Particularly with his jabs towards Jones but also on his own channels promoting himself and talking about the fight game. As expected a swift response was provided by Aspinall on Instagram when the clip broke from the Kevin Iole interview.
The point is clear and concise from the Interim champion, dismissing him due to resume and accomplishments is foolish. Since joining the UFC in the summer of 2020 the Brit has fought nine times and won 8 of those bouts with a 100% finish rate also with 7 fight bonuses too. The sole defeat comes with an asterisk as it was a knee injury suffered in the opening seconds against Curtis Blaydes. Aspinall has since avenged that loss last time out at UFC 304. In comparison look back to 2011 when Jon Jones got his title shot against Shogun Rua. Before getting that shot he had only seven UFC bouts with six wins and only four of those were finishes. For Jones to state Aspinall has not proven anything is simply untrue.
Why do you think Jones is avoiding Aspinall?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
