Daniel Cormier suggests there are two reasons why Jon Jones is avoiding a fight with Tom Aspinall

DC explained that, after years of hard living and time away from full-time competition, Jones isn’t the same fighter he once was. Combined with the new no-shoulder strike rule, Aspinall’s striking ability makes him a uniquely dangerous opponent for the current version of Jon Jones.

“The reason Aspinall is the biggest threat to him today is because Jones is 38 years old. Because he’s lived a life of excess, partying, living, doing all those things that back in the day got him into trouble”, he said.

Jones, now in his late thirties, faces a new reality. According to Cormier, the old Jon might have embraced the challenge, but the current one sees the danger differently. Cormier believes Jones isn’t scared; he’s just aware that Aspinall is a serious threat – and that losing to him could damage his legacy more than any missed fight.

“Aspinall is the biggest threat today because the roles have reversed. At 28 years old, Jon would’ve seen Tom a million times over and fought him already. But Jon, at 38, recognizes that this dude is a little better. He’s not afraid. He just doesn’t want to get knocked out. Jon Jones prefers to let his legacy stay as is with the caveat that he didn’t fight Tom Aspinall, didn’t run the risk of fighting Tom Aspinall and getting beat by Tom Aspinall.”

Dana White doesn’t want to wait anymore

CEO Dana White was seen by many UFC fans as a key part of Jones’ strategy to avoid a clash with Aspinall.

However, it seems the businessman is already losing patience with the situation. Recently, he set a deadline to confirm the heavyweight’s champions fight – or move on.

“We’ll see how this thing plays out over the next couple of weeks. If we can’t get this fight done, we’ll move on quickly. We’ll have the answers in the next couple of weeks,” the MMA mogul told Jim Rome.

“Jon Jones has been an interesting human being to deal with since the day he got here. But I’ll say this about him: I wouldn’t be out here calling him the GOAT if Jon Jones didn’t want to fight people.

“He’s never said, ‘I don’t like this fight for me, I don’t want to fight this guy’. Not one time.”

Jon Jones has yet to comment on the deadline, but this is clearly a situation where a resolution needs to be found sooner rather than later.