Joe Rogan thinks Jon Jones would have been comfortably outmatched in this category by the current UFC heavyweight champion.
While a new era in the division is underway, with Tom Aspinall at the helm, talk of his failed matchup with Jones continues to exist in the MMA space.
Jones avoided facing Aspinall in a unification fight, resulting in the Englishman spending a record time as the interim heavyweight titleholder. In the meantime, ‘Bones’ made a single defense of his belt against Stipe Miocic in over two years as champion.
Many accused the GOAT contender of deliberately avoiding a test he knew would be one of the toughest of his career, and Rogan was among those who saw Aspinall as a major threat.
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Joe Rogan says Tom Aspinall’s speed made him a threat to Jon Jones
The longtime color commentator revisited the Jones vs Aspinall discussion during a recent episode of his JRE MMA Show, which featured UFC contender Michael ‘Venom’ Page as a guest.
Rogan once again raved about the Manchester native, placing emphasis on his incredible agility and speed for a heavyweight powerhouse.
That’s an area in which the renowned podcaster believes Aspinall would have a firm advantage over Jones.
“Jon is one of, if not the, greatest fighter of all time, but he’s not the fastest guy,” Rogan said.
“I thought that (Aspinall) was a complicated matchup for him because Aspinall is not easy to get to the ground, and he’s fast as f— and he’s big.
“He’s a legit 250 pounds natural (heavyweight),” Rogan added. “There’s no way he can make 205 pounds ever. … No heavyweight moves like him. Crazy speed.
“That’s a problem when you’re not really a heavyweight, as great as Jon is.”
Jon Jones ‘stretched’ Dana White’s trust too far
Talk of Jones fighting Aspinall recently re-emerged after the Rochester native announced plans for a comeback soon after his brief retirement was confirmed.
But while the former two-division champion wants to compete at the White House event in 2026, Dana White has ruled Jones out owing to his historical unreliability.
Among those not surprised by the UFC president’s decision is Robert Whittaker, who suggested Jones “stretched” White’s trust too far.
“Jones, I feel like he got ahead of himself,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “He understands his value and worth to the company, and he really pushed the envelope as far as he could take it.
“That whole length of time of inactivity, and holding up the division, and keeping Aspinall on the sidelines, it was a bit much. Not only that…the way he was acting about it, the way he was saying what he was doing — he was flaunting the power he had.
“I think that’s where he stretched the trust factor with the bosses,” Whittaker added.