The former light-heavyweight champion has been tipped to take on the British star, but appears to be against the idea of fighting the heavyweight sensation in the cage
The former light-heavyweight champion has been tipped to take on the British star, but appears to be against the idea of fighting the heavyweight sensation in the cage The former light-heavyweight champion has been tipped to take on the British star, but appears to be against the idea of fighting the heavyweight sensation in the cage
UFC heavyweight king Jon Jones has dismissed the idea of taking on interim champion Tom Aspinall inside the Octagon.
‘Bones’ picked up the heavyweight belt after defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last year. The former light-heavyweight champion is scheduled to take on MMA legend Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 next weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The pair were scheduled to fight last year at UFC 295, but Jones was forced to withdraw from the bout after he tore his pectoral tendon during training. Rather than keeping Miocic on the card, the UFC booked Sergei Pavlovich vs Aspinall for the interim title, with the latter going on to secure a sensational first round knockout.
The Brit then defended his title earlier this year, defeating Curtis Blaydes inside 60 seconds in Manchester. Coincidentally, Aspinall will serve as the backup fighter next week in case either Jones or Miocic are forced to withdraw from the contest. Back in March, Jones was in Birmingham for a meet-and-greet with fans at the Arnold Sports Festival. Aspinall was also in attendance at the same event and he made the most of the situation by scouting out his rival. “Just saying hello,” Aspinall said whilst approaching Jones. “What’s going on man?” Jones then replied: “How are you?” with Aspinall responding: “I’m all good man.”
Things got a bit tense when Aspinall put his hand on Jones’ shoulder, with the UFC legend quickly dismissed the gesture and forced an apology out of Aspinall. “Are we going to do this thing? I would love to have the honour one day, respect man,” Aspinall asked. Jones welcomed the fight “one day” but was quick to dismiss Aspinall’s request when he asked: “Can we do a quick picture? A face-off?” The rivals ended up taking a picture alongside each other instead of facing off before going their separate ways.
The two heavyweight stars have been tipped to fight each other, but Jones has now dismissed the possibility of a match-up should he continue to fight. When asked by Kevin Iole about the prospect of facing Aspinall, he said: “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 – I understand that he won his belt against Sergei, Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else.
“So I’m not here to gamble someone else making a name off of me, I’m here to compete against the guys where when we look back 10 years from now, ‘Jon Jones fought this guy, that guy, this legend, this champion…’.”
Jones – who is expected to retire after his clash with Miocic next weekend – has suggested he would take on light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira if he continued his MMA career. “If there would to be a fight with a guy that is still on the UFC roster that would be not only financially worth it, but legacy worth it, it would be Alex Pereira,” he explained. “Alex Pereira and I, we’re both 37 years old.
“Right now, I weigh about 235, I’m an incredibly light heavyweight… That fight would go much farther on my legacy than a young man who is cool today, and maybe gone tomorrow. I remember a time when the whole world thought Johnny Walker was going to be the guy to beat me. No disrespect to Johnny Walker, but we’ve all seen the way his career has played out. I’ve just been here too long to get all excited about someone who is hot today. I’m here for legacy, I’ve been gambling for way too long to just take random fights.”
Mirror – Sport
