Pros Turn On Jones For Ducking Aspinall – ‘Just Retire, You’re Done’

MMA pros have called out Jon Jones’ failure to fight Tom Aspinall. 

Jones is the UFC Heavyweight Champion, having secured the title by beating Ciryl Gane in a first-round submission. The win marked his return to the sport after a three-year absence. Since then, he has made one successful defense of the belt, stopping Stipe Miocic in the first round. Meanwhile, Aspinall got his title shot by stopping Curtis Blaydes in the first round in their UFC 304 rematch. The win made Aspinall the longest interim champion in history.

Tom has been desperate to secure the Jones fight, with the latter giving conflicting comments over his future. Jones has said he does not need to fight Tom for his legacy while also saying he will face anyone if compensated enough. Dana White has repeatedly stated he is confident the fight will happen. However, there are also reports Aspinall could face Gane instead.

The uncertainty is holding the heavyweight division up, with Aspinall not having fought in over a year. While the UFC is known for making the best face each other, their failure to make this fight has now gotten fellow MMA pros speaking out. It all points towards a negative perception of Jones despite the accolades he has achieved. 

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“If you’re the champ, you defend your belt — it’s a responsibility. You can’t just sit out. You need to be reasonably active. You need to fight whoever’s there. If you’ve got an interim champ, that’s a no-brainer. I don’t want to throw heaps of shade, but look, I know he’s proved himself, everyone’s like, ‘Look what he’s done, it’s fine.’ No, not really. “Don’t hold up the division. I know your résumé is incredible. You’re considered the greatest of all time. So if you don’t want to fight, just retire, you’re done,” Volkanovski said 

“I’m not going to be disrespectful and say he’s scared. He can’t be scared. If he was honest with himself, he hasn’t beat a real prime heavyweight. You beat Ciryl Gane, he’s got obvious holes in the grappling, and you beat an old Stipe (Miocic), who was rusty, and who did have you.

There were moments in that fight where a younger Stipe maybe takes advantage of those. If Jon were to beat Tom, we would all be like, ‘OK, he legitimately is the GOAT, he legitimately won the heavyweight title.’ I think it would help him – even if he lost, bro, we get it, you’re old, you’re not a real heavyweight. We get it. You can lose. It’s OK,” Blaydes said