Everybody knows what's up.
Jonny boy never wanted the Ngannou or Aspinall fights. He priced himself out so it wouldn't happen.
Dana called his bluff for the Aspinall fight. It was at that point Jonny boy pulled the "actually guys I'm retiring" move.
Only nuthuggers or retards change the narrative. History will show Jonny as the woman beater and duck he truly is. When he was in his prime, he had no issues fighting the old dogs. Now that he's the old dog, he's terrified to give the young dogs a shot. That's why he'll never fight Aspinall but he had no issues wanting a fight with Stipe or Alex Perriera.
No, only naive fans think that (which are the majority, the ones who matter and the fighters know it isn't that way)... JJ didn’t duck Francis. The night Ngannou beat Stipe, JJ tweeted “show me the money.” That’s a price fight, not a no. Dana threw out the “$30 million” line, JJ flat-out said he never asked for that, and Francis himself later said the UFC is the one that didn’t make the fight, because both of them wanted it. Then Francis walked as a free agent, so there was nothing left to book anyway. Francis himself said it was Dana, not Jones. So, wrong already.
The Aspinall thing is the same deal, Jones tore his pec off the bone before 295, needed surgery, and was out around eight months. That’s how Tom even got the interim belt, he stepped in on short notice and knocked out Pavlovich. Dana’s been on camera saying the Jones–Stipe winner “has to” fight Aspinall next. Injury layoffs and UFC matchmaking politics aren’t the same as a duck. Specially when JJ said he and Tom had things behind the doors and he was waiting for the UFC to announce it... All while saying the UFC knew what was going on and that he was waiting the announcement of what he and Tom and the UFC agreed on behind doors, to which Tom himself raised the petition.org to strip JJ — which makes Tom more of a duck if you want to stick to facts... Which you will end up knowing by yourself eventually.
He only fighting old dogs doesn’t hold either as JJ beat DC in 2015 when DC was unbeaten and had never been taken down. He edged Reyes, an up and comer younger than him, beat Gus 2x, who was an up and comer the first fight and the same age as JJ... and he choked out Ciryl Gane in two minutes in to win the HW vs someone also younger than him to whom Tom said "me and Gane are very evenly matched" Those are facts.
So no, the “everybody knows” narrative doesn’t line up once you actually look at dates, injuries, filings, and what the fighters themselves said and say : they all recognize JJ greatness as the best or top 3 best to ever do it and no one says he ducked the fight, not Topuria, not Khabib, not GSP, not Jiri Prochazka.... That is, legends who have retired already and current top tier fighters all echo that JJ is one of the best ever. He will be known like that by clueless fans, which is irrelevant even if he had ducked Tom, which he didn't. At the end he will be recognized like Jiri said : "An inspiration by showing brutal dominance and one of the best to ever fight". Not by clueless fans like you, which is irrelevant to how he will be known as a fighter. The fighters don't say that, so haters are going to cry alone on echo chambers and X while they accomplish nothing themselves with JJ retiring unbeaten, and with basically 90% of the fighters denying any duck narrative. Aspinall may be the true duck and you might get it revealed sooner or later which will be cool anyways. I'll be here to witness it.
If anything, Alex Pereira will be the one who challenges him as the goat candidate depending on how one interprets their accomplishments ... As he's better than Tom, and the mma fighters know it deep down. I follow them, I follow the game, you follow your own bias based on nothing but laziness to be looking for actual facts.
