It’s gonna be like those pro wrestling matches where the heel intentionally stops the pin at a 2 count to keep the punishment going
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I hope this happens for that reason alone. Aspinall and his fans have been more annoying than Dagi stans this last year.
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I’d be betting on Jones even though I’d love to see Aspinall flatline him.
Let’s not forget the Gane fight was a 50/50 prospect to most pundits, Jon made it look embarrasingly easy to the point people then said Gane choked and/or he was never that good.
I think Aspinall is a tougher challenge that Ngannou for Jones. Jones is a master statetigst/dirty prick, he finds ways to win and has done so for years and years and years without once ever being in critical danger. No chicken dances, no turtling up waiting for the bell to rescue him, no holding on for dear life while his opponent rains down blows.
I think he would have dispatched Ngannou with relative ease, way too many holes in his ground game, Jones would have exploited that and once again people would be saying Ngannou was never that good.
Aspinall though, he’s well rounded, and fast.
He’s looking like the future of the division.
If Jones runs through him, not sure what else he could/should do to prove he’s the GOAT.
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For jones the sooner the better. He’s closing in on 40. Has a lot of miles. Every month older makes a difference when you are this close to 40.
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I think Aspinall out strikes him and takes him down and beats him easily. Jones has nothing for the young lion.
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I figured out why Dana’s will not criticize Jones for ducking Tom and has done everything in his power to help Jones duck Tom. Jones is the biggest draw MMA and he makes only 6 million per fight. That explains it all.
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JBJ ‘In Negotiations’ With UFC Over Return: ‘I Will Be Competing In 2025’
It would seem that fans haven’t seen the last of the man widely considered the greatest of all time inside the Octagon, judging by UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones’ latest remarks.
Jones returned to action earlier this month 20 months on from becoming a two-division kingpin. After quickly getting the better of Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut last year, “Bones” added a successful defense to his reign by sending Stipe Miocic into retirement.
The pair headlined the promotion’s annual November visit to Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the champ closed the show with a brutal spinning back kick to the body in round three.
Much of the lead-up surrounded Jones’ continued avoidance of his interim counterpart, Tom Aspinall. In addition to teasing a possible retirement, the Rochester native pointed to Alex Pereira as the one opponent he’d remain active for in 2025.
Dana White, however, has been vocal in dismissing a clash between “Bones” and “Poatan.” Despite that, it appears negotiations have begun regarding another outing for the former multi-time light heavyweight king.
During a recent interview with The Schmo, Jones provided an update on his status post-UFC 309, revealing that talks are underway with the promotion.
“So right now, the UFC and I, we’re in negotiations, we’re in talks to see what happens next,” Jones said. “I’m back in the gym. I’m training. I feel really great. The team’s support, they’re right behind me, and we’ll just be ready for whatever opportunity comes out way.
“There is (a figure in mind), but I’m not going to discuss that publicly,” Jones continued. “I will be competing in 2025, more than likely.”
While Jones has stayed steadfast in rejecting the possibility of unifying the heavyweight titles versus Aspinall next, that would appear to still be the most desired matchup among the MMA masses for the 37-year-old.
Whether or not the UFC can do what is needed to convince Jones, who has previously sat on the sidelines while criticizing the promotion’s failure to meet his financial demands, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, fans can likely expect Jones to continue his habit of embracing the ‘ducking’ allegations on social media.
Aspinall takes him down?
I think Tom has a great chance. Great wrestling, dangerous submissions, dangerous striking, young, big, and athletic.
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Yup. The longer the “negotiations” go on, the less likely this fight happens. Not that it’s that close anyways.
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Bisping caping for Tom while saying Alex is an easy match for Jon. No one has any objectivity these days.
Simply put, if Jones wants to keep the HW title, his next fight HAS TO BE Aspinall. Or the sport isn’t legit. Even Dana, of all people, understands this. If Jones relinquishes the title, then yes, he can do whatever he wants. We’ll see…
Hell, they stripped Conor McGregor of the 145 belt and finally forced him into a mandatory title defense at 155 against Khabib and he was worth plenty more than Jones ever will be to the UFC.
Ducked? They’re in negotiations to fight right now lol
Heading into UFC 309, heavyweight champion Jon Jones was hesitant to commit to competing beyond his title fight with Stipe Miocic. Coming out of UFC 309, Jones has sung a different tune, and that has UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik feeling quite optimistic about the matchup the masses are clamoring for.
And which matchup would that be? A title unification bout with interim champ Tom Aspinall, of course.
“I have no inside information. I truly don’t. You can call it informed speculation. … But I do believe that fight is going to happen, and I think what was most telling was just the way Jon Jones handled his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan,” Anik said in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio. “And then I talked to him after the fact in the back for ESPN, and I was like, ‘Are we getting three or four more of these things, or what?’ He was going into the Stipe fight with a fight-by-fight mentality, and he sounded like the furthest thing from retirement with Rogan after the fact. So that’s very encouraging.”
Before Jones dismantled Miocic for a third-round TKO win at UFC 309, he spent fight week having to explain why, if he didn’t retire, he preferred a showdown with light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira over Aspinall, but Anik doesn’t see that materializing.
“This is the fight,” Anik said. “Even though Jon Jones isn’t the natural heavyweight in body that Tom Aspinall is, he’s not going to fight Alex Pereira right now. He’s going to fight Tom Aspinall.”
As far as Anik is concerned, Jones vs. Aspinall is all but a lock to happen – provided Jones gets his wish in terms of compensation. What Jones wants exactly isn’t clear, although he described it as “f*ck you money” after UFC 309.
If negotiations between Jones and the UFC go well, then Anik expects the fight to take place during the biggest week on the calendar next year.
“It just comes down to what Jon Jones’ number is,” Anik said. “What is Jon Jones’ net worth? What number is he looking for? Is it 25 million (dollars) to show? You know, what is Michael Jordan worth? What is the greatest of all time worth? I feel like the company is in a great position to make this fight, and I think you’ve got to do Las Vegas. You’ve got to do International Fight Week 2025.”
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The whole asking for more money to fight Pereira thing is comical to me. So you want more money to fight a guy who is smaller than you and has a big gap in his wrestling, and for some reason, you should get paid more for that? You’re not moving up a division and facing a well rounded guy.
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