“If you ask me in terms of where we are now, I think it’s hard to find someone better than Jon Jones. Jon Jones is extremely but he’s also extremely tough, people have no idea how tough he is. I’ve trained with him, I’ve seen him going through the grind. He’s so freaking tough. I remember fights with Vitor Belfort, his arm got dislocated and he fought with a dislocated arm.

“Even in one of his fights his toe was broken. Most of the time when you have a guy that is very talented, it doesn’t come with toughness. Jon Jones is the full package, he’s got everything, elite striker, elite grappler, he’s good everywhere, of course, there are things people will say he did this, he did that, in terms of who’s the best, and he came back, beat Ciryl Gane the way he did. It’s hard to have an argument,” GSP said

Jones’ Future

Nevertheless, Jones has been criticised for avoiding Tom Aspinall. The Brit is the current UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. Once Jones pulled out of his title defense against Stipe Miocic, the Brit wanted the UFC to strip Jones. This was because he wanted to face Miocic for the title, allowing the winner to face Jones. Dana White dismissed the idea, leaving Aspinall waiting on the sidelines. Given that Jones is currently out injured, he was not best pleased by Aspinall’s antics.

“I’m over here fresh off the operation table and you’re making tags on the Internet, framing yourself as if I’m running from you. Even though I announced potentially retired before you beat Sergei. Bro I became champion before you were 18 years old. I’ve been here for years. I don’t know where you’ve been this whole time but I have always been here,” Jones stated 

If Jones does manage to secure a victory over Miocic, the calls on him to face Aspinall will increase. Failure to do so may leave question marks over his legacy. 

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