Ilia Topuria refutes the idea Jon Jones is scared of fighting Tom Aspinall.
The UFC has a new undisputed heavyweight champion, and his name is Tom Aspinall. An interim titleholder since Nov. 2023, Aspinall was finally promoted to the undisputed champion as a result of Jones’ official retirement on Saturday.
The 37-year-old Jones ends his legendary career after 30 pro fights and an undefeated record in title fights.
‘Bones’ wasn’t all that interested in fighting Aspinall before and after his final title defense took place against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 last November and a massive UFC payday failed to convince him otherwise.
Jon Jones has received mixed reactions from the UFC world following his retirement, with some paying their respects to the all-time great and others accusing the former heavyweight champion of ‘ducking’ Aspinall.
Ahead of his lightweight title fight at UFC 317, undefeated UFC superstar Ilia Topuria has given his two cents on the situation.
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‘He just wants to retire’ … Ilia Topuria says Jon Jones not running from Tom Aspinall
In the past, Topuria accused lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev of ducking a fight with him when Makhachev decided to leave the division to pursue a second belt at welterweight.
Now, instead of fighting Makhachev at UFC 317, Topuria will fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant title this weekend.
On Monday, the Spaniard was asked if he sees any similarities between Makhachev and Jones, who retired before fighting Aspinall.
“Not at all. You can’t even compare that situation,” Topuria said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“You can’t compare Jon Jones with Islam.
“Jon has done so many great things in the sport. He fought the best of the best in the last ten years. So, I don’t think he’s ducking anyone.
“He just wants to retire. He’s tired, maybe, of the game or whatever, and he wants to retire. I don’t think he’s ducking anyone because you can find a guy always that’s [new], ‘He’s the next one [to beat Jones].’
“Even if he beats Tom Aspinall, there’s gonna be someone new.”
Quote: ‘Tom Aspinall has Jon Jones’ legacy in his hands’
While Aspinall may not have accolades Jones has, some believe Jones’ refusal to fight Aspinall will leave a stain on his overall legacy as arguably the greatest fighter of all time.
Of course, that largely depends on what kind of title reign Aspinall has at heavyweight now that he’s the undisputed champion.
“Tom Aspinall has Jon Jones’ legacy in his hands,” MMA producer Eric Jackman said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“If Aspinall goes out there and becomes as great a heavyweight as I believe he can be, Jon is going to have egg on his face and this will become an indelible part of his legacy.
“He will be inextricably tied to Tom’s rise,” Jackman said of Jones.
“But if Tom Aspinall loses his next fight, it won’t have any real impact on Jon’s legacy.
“In fact, people will rewrite history and say Tom wasn’t equipped for it, that he wasn’t ready. And if he had fought Jon at that time, Jon probably would have won,” Jackman explained of how the narrative could possibly change with an Aspinall loss.