Jon Jones Is Still Refusing To Fight Tom Aspinall After Defeating Stipe Miocic
Right after Jon Jones defeated and retired the greatest heavyweight in UFC history (in devastating fashion, might I add) at Madison Square Garden, with the MMA world in the palm of his hands, he was asked by Joe Rogan what's next - with the championship unifying fight versus Tom Aspinall obviously on everybody's mind. It's the biggest fight the UFC could make right now, and the matchup every fan wants to see.
Obviously, the camera cut to Tom Aspinall in the front row, and the entire arena EXPLODED with cheers - setting up a potential ALL TIME callout, but Jon Jones took that moment to acknowledge our lord and savior Jesus Christ, and ignored Aspinall completely....
It was a complete eyeroll worthy moment in my opinion; not because of the shoutout to Jesus (which I'm always fine with, of course), but because of how transparent it felt from Jones in deflection of the obvious. I guess he just really didn't want to give Aspinall his moment? Even if that were the case, though, he robbed the fans of that which was kinda lame. Whatever.
In his post-fight press conference, Jones doubled down on his refusal to fight Tom Aspinall (which I blogged about earlier this week) and said if the UFC insists on that fight happening next (which they do) he'd happily retire instead. Jon said he would much rather give up the title and fight Alex Pereira - who is a phenomenal fighter and extremely exciting as champion, don't get me wrong, but he's a 205er who could make 185lbs and has zero grappling game. It's an extremely favorable matchup for Jon at heavyweight. He also mentioned Jamahal Hill as a potential opponent, another 205er coming off a KO loss to Pereira. All very bizarre talk from the greatest of all time, even if he is at the end of his career.
I'll actually give Jones the benefit of the doubt and acknowledge that he might be doing some masterful negotiating by acting like there's nothing on earth he'd rather do less than fight the next rightful heavyweight contender, so the UFC unloads a dumptruck full of money on his doorstep for one last ride - but it's just extremely frustrating to listen to as a fan.
Imagine the GOAT of any other sport talking like this? Saying they'd rather not win another championship to instead face someone they think is a "more fun" matchup for them? Imagine Tom Brady turning down the opportunity to play the best team in the league in the Super Bowl to try to get revenge over a divisional rival or something? Michael Jordan turning down another ring for a game against the Knicks? Tiger Woods choosing another livestream match with Phil over competing at Augusta one last time?
Based on Dana White's post-fight comments, they actually are gonna offer Jones a boatload to fight Aspinall, and we just have to hope and pray it's enough to entice him and change his mind. I think at this point, walking away from MMA and leaving the Aspinall fight on the table may damage his legacy as much as a loss to Aspinall would. You just have to give him that opportunity. It's not even like Aspinall winning is a sure thing! Jones is still the GOAT, isn't he?! Why not prove that you can still take down the best, having done so throughout multiple eras of fighting, and THEN walk off into the sunset?! I just don't get it!*
*Again, unless it's all a negotiating tactic. In that case, I get it. But I still hate it.