GSP talks about Tom not focusing on the right thing

[Luffy]

Why would a win over Gane (who was just gifted a decision over Volkov--injury or not) make him "100% undeniable" more than he is now?? The hurdle isn't ANYONE (anyone sane anyway) claiming there's someone other than Aspinall that Jones needs to fight (if he chooses to defend vs vacate). The hurdle is Jones actually making the decision on IF he's gonna defend or not.

You think we need Aspinall to sign to fight Gane and knock him out and the next day Jones magically coincidentally decides he's ready to defend and the fans get Jones vs Tai Tuivasa? Yeah...great.

By that same logic, if JJ retired, nothing would make Aspinall stocks go up, as you said it yourself, there isn't any match that makes him more than he already is except JJ. So if JJ retired already, Aspinall would be in a ghost land HW division with no fights that would be big in the sense of accomplishments, and if he lost to Gane after JJ retired, it'd look very bad either way, no? So... Jon Jones being there with the undisputed belt and him as the #1 contender benefits him anyways. Aspinall said himself that from a financial PoV and all, waiting is beneficial for him, so who's to say otherwise.

I think there's a clear misunderstanding because Tom knows who he's going to fight next, he knows when, etc... But he said "I've been sworn to secrecy". Plus, he said the UFC wants his next fight to be Jon Jones and no one else. Basically, he knows he will face Jon Jones since he himself said he knows who his next opponent is, when, but that "he has been sworn to secrecy". He also said he has some negotiations of his own, and some conversations, whatever he wants to have with the UFC.

All in all, both Jon Jones and Aspinall’s silence can very well reflect more than just fight logistics. It could be a sign that he and Jones are part of a big play related to the UFC’s future streaming platform, and those things are tightly managed behind the scenes.

If so, the fight might be one of the first dominoes in a major shift in how UFC content is delivered, with the upcoming change of platforms.

 

[haj02]

GSP is right, Aspinall could have forced the fight or forced the UFC to strip Jones by being super active. He doesn't have the charisma to force it with words even if public opinion (MMA public opinion, he's not exactly a famous guy) is largely behind him.

 

[Squarechoke]

GSP was in a mirror situation to Jones.

He dodged Woodley to fight Bisping, which was the easier fight against the more weathered opponent.

Whittaker was next, and GSP chose to retire instead.

But, the thing is, if you've already competed against the best for 10-15+ years, you've already accomplished everything there is to accomplish, what else do you really have to prove?

Would GSP or Jones gain anything if they'd fought Whittaker and aspinall? It would be a great feather in the cap at the end of a storied career, but it wouldn't really change the bottom line in terms of legacy and all time status.

Much as we want the fight, I think people need to understand such a situation from the perspective of a top fighter at the end of their career.


With that in mind, where this situation does change is money. Jones is in a position where he doesn't have to fight again. If the UFC wants it, they'll bend the rules to make it happen, if not, then he's out.

Which is a great position to be in terms of leverage, especially in a star deprived ufc.

That being said, I think it happens.

Probably depends on who wins the poatan magomedov rematch. If poatan wins, I could see Jones giving up the title and moving down.

GSP had vacated the WW title almost 4 years before and was basically retired, and then chose to come back for a new challenge and accolade. He had no responsibilities whatsoever to any division at that time.

That's not even remotely close to Jones being the current champ and refusing to fight the interim champion and just hold up the title with inactivity.

 

[Ginja_Ninja]

5 years removed? You mean 3, right? Because he fought Ngannou in 2021 and JJ, in 2024. Last I checked, 2021~2024 is 3 years.

Plus, JJ was 3 years "removed" too. Had never fought in HW. What happened when he fought after 3 years (same amount of time as Stipe hadn't fought) against Gane, who's 7 years younger than Stipe?

Oh, and once Ngannou didn't sign the contract to fight JJ, which was offered to him by the UFC and agreed by Jones, right after it, in late 2022, JJ straight up called Stipe to fight him in November 2022, or March 2023. Stipe's response was that he was planning to fight Francis in a trilogy and get the belt back. But since Francis left, he declined JJ calling him out in late 2022 saying he needed a specific preparation for JJ, as that'd be his last fight, and against someone who is considered the GOAT, hence Miocic said he wanted to fight Jones later on with a proper camp, rather than jumping in too early.

Check your facts straight, buddy

Haha it was an exaggeration but yup, you got it spot on. That is the timeline. 3 years, 4 years from a win, zero ranked wins. Still makes no sense.

Even still, I was good with giving him the Stipe fight when it was a quick turn around for fun but to put the entire division on hold for a year to gift him this fight made no sense. That is what created this fiasco. We need a real HW division again.

Since 2018 we've only had had 6 fighter compete in 7 fights for the HW title.
We have what will be the longest reigning champ in history who has one fought a single person in the top 15.
There are only two fighters in the top 15 that have ever had a title shot (Lewis's shot was in 2018, he's has 13 fights since)
They have made HW a bigger joke than 2000's boxing.

I love to see this fight but at this point in time I just want a real HW division again.

 

[mkess101]

By that same logic, if JJ retired, nothing would make Aspinall stocks go up, as you said it yourself, there isn't any match that makes him more than he already is except JJ. So if JJ retired already, Aspinall would be in a ghost land HW division with no fights that would be big in the sense of accomplishments, and if he lost to Gane after JJ retired, it'd look very bad either way, no? So... Jon Jones being there with the undisputed belt and him as the #1 contender benefits him anyways. Aspinall said himself that from a financial PoV and all, waiting is beneficial for him, so who's to say otherwise.

I think there's a clear misunderstanding because Tom knows who he's going to fight next, he knows when, etc... But he said "I've been sworn to secrecy". Plus, he said the UFC wants his next fight to be Jon Jones and no one else. Basically, he knows he will face Jon Jones since he himself said he knows who his next opponent is, when, but that "he has been sworn to secrecy". He also said he has some negotiations of his own, and some conversations, whatever he wants to have with the UFC.

All in all, both Jon Jones and Aspinall’s silence can very well reflect more than just fight logistics. It could be a sign that he and Jones are part of a big play related to the UFC’s future streaming platform, and those things are tightly managed behind the scenes.

If so, the fight might be one of the first dominoes in a major shift in how UFC content is delivered, with the upcoming change of platforms.

Difference is only one guy is 38 and openly talking retirement. Aspinall is 31 and gonna keep fighting even if there's no major marquee matchups.

 

[Crash Lance]

Difference is only one guy is 38 and openly talking retirement. Aspinall is 31 and gonna keep fighting even if there's no major marquee matchups.

Tom Aspinall is currently 32 years old (and counting).

Time waits for no man.

In other threads, I mentioned the fact that Tom Aspinall keeps doing gargantuan favors for the UFC. No more of that.

Tom eliminated Tybura. I consider that MMA fight to be a gargantuan favor.

Tom eliminated Pavlovich. I consider that MMA fight to be a huge favor.

Tom Aspinall is 1-1 against Curtis. In my opinion, Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis 2 is tantamount to Tom doing another huge favor for Dana White and the rest of the UFC.

No more favors. How can these extremely generous grants from The Tom Aspinall Foundation keep going?

 

[mkess101]

Tom Aspinall is currently 32 years old (and counting).

Time waits for no man.

In other threads, I mentioned the fact that Tom Aspinall keeps doing gargantuan favors for the UFC. No more of that.

Tom eliminated Tybura. I consider that MMA fight to be a gargantuan favor.

Tom eliminated Pavlovich. I consider that MMA fight to be a huge favor.

Tom Aspinall is 1-1 against Curtis. In my opinion, Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis 2 is tantamount to Tom doing another huge favor for Dana White and the rest of the UFC.

No more favors. How can these extremely generous grants from The Tom Aspinall Foundation keep going?

You're right. 32

 

[Alacran]

GSP is not incapable of giving bad opinions