Jon Jones has made his future plans very clear, and none of them involve facing Tom Aspinall to unify the heavyweight division.
The legendary two-weight UFC world champion will return to the octagon on November 16 at Madison Square Garden, defending his title against divisional great Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. The pair were due to fight last year at the same venue, but injury cost them the fight.
Instead, Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title, and established himself as a serious contender for Jones. He has even defended that belt against Curtis Blaydes, but appears no closer to a major unification bout.
Jon Jones details why he refuses to fight Tom Aspinall
In preparation for his return to the octagon, Jon Jones took part in a series of interviews yesterday, including with Kevin Iole and The New York Post. And in both he made his feelings about Tom Aspinall very clear.
He compared the Brit to light-heavyweight prospect Johnny Walker, who was previously touted as the man to beat Jones. The Brazilian looked unstoppable before being defeated by Corey Anderson, and has gone an unremarkable 4-5 since.
“More than likely not,” he told Iole about the prospect of facing the Manchester native. “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…’.”
Jon Jones names Alex Pereira as preferred opponent for next fight
Jones has been fairly clear that he expects UFC 309 to be his last fight after 16 years in the sport’s top promotion. He faces the legendary but aged Miocic, and says that his plan is only to take fights if they will ultimately help his legacy.
And he feels that Aspinall pales in comparison as a legacy fight to light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The Brazilian has already won middleweight gold, and would be fighting for an unprecedented third divisional world title against Jones.
“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.”
Dana White made opposite claim in interview hours earlier
Just hours prior to Jones’ slate of interviews, UFC boss Dana White spoke to TNT Sports and offered a very different take on what would happen. Despite neither man committing to ever fight again after Madison Square Garden, he believes they both owe it to the next generation to face Aspinall.
“I truly believe that whoever wins this fight, just competitively the way that these guys are wired and the reason that they’re both massive legends in the sport,” White said. “They’re not going to just ride off into the sunset without settling the dispute with Tom Aspinall.
“When you think about Jon Jones becoming the youngest champion in history and all the things that Stipe accomplished, they were given opportunities when they were young. I think that they will reciprocate. People will lose their f***ing minds if either one of those fights happen; Stipe or Jon Jones.”
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