Media Jon Jones Back n Forth with Tom Aspinall Completely Dismissing Him - Tom Responds - Newest Update Jones Confirms WILL retire after Stipe fight

[Fatback96]

Jon is a "semi retired old man" and this is the bigger fight bar none not to mention the fight fans around the globe want to see. The of the biggest legacies in mma clash, these two men have beaten the cream of the crop and done so in spectacular fashion. If I were Jon I'd want to beat the guy who beat the guy who beat the guy, not someone with no wins under his record.

If you want to call him that it’s fine, but stop holding up the division with these weak matchups for the TITLE that definitely aren’t deciding who is the best HW in the division.

 

[Fight Professor]

Once Blaydes finds a way to lose to Almeida, Aspinal is going to have a very dangerous opponent who also wants the title. Tom is trying to get the real belt asap,

 

[TheTribalQueef]

If you want to call him that it’s fine, but stop holding up the division with these weak matchups for the TITLE that definitely aren’t deciding who is the best HW in the division.

It's not what I want to call him it's what he is. He's well past his prime and he's stated that he's retiring right after his next title defence that he promised would be against Stipe. Jon vs Stipe is not a weak match up. It draws because these two are argubably goats in their respective divisions. Jon vs Stipe should happen and its what the fans want to see it makes money and mma purest who love this sport have wanted to see these guys go at it for ages, even if they are both slightly diminished.

 

[Gamer2k4]

Anderson used steroids to recover from his leg break. Cormier didn’t eye poke anywhere near as much as Jon. It was Jon’s biggest weapon on his come up and for about 90% of his title fights. Once they forced him to close his hands he struggled in pretty much every fight - OSP, Reyes, Santos etc

Cormier was flagrant in his eye pokes, intentionally gouging opponents. Jones simply kept his fingers extended.

As for "struggled in pretty much every fight," the rules changes took effect at the start of 2017. Since that point, Jones KOed DC, KOed Gus, 48-44ed Smith (50-44 without the foul), and finished Gane. If you want to count OSP, that was also 50-45 (one judge scored it 50-44). That's five dominant victories compared to the two closer fights with Reyes and Santos. If that's "struggling in pretty much every fight" to you, you've got some ridiculously high standards.

 

[KORNBR3AD]

Its crazy how many fans cant put aside their personal feelings to make a proper assessment. Not just with Jones, but with everything MMA.

 

[Boomb]

View attachment 1022593

YOUR resume, not, you're resume, jeez isn't Tom a brit? He shout be able to write in english...or no?

 

[Poirierfan]

I was having a little fun at the expense of the thread, and I apologize for the terms you took as an insult. God bless you my friend.

Just having a hard time right now. Waiting on hearing back from another neurosurgeon for my neck because of another Dr's screw up, been playing phone tag while in crazy stupid pain. Usually I'll play along so it's my bad. Anyway, have yourself a good day, cheers.

 

[AstralPanda]

Wow what a dickrider. Jones went to life and death vs Santos for a SD. Got beat by Reyes but the result was corupt. Now Nganou is easy woulda coulda would would work fro him because 10 years ago Jones owned Shogun and Machida.
Jone already lost to Reyes.

Tom the next mythicsal figure. Jomes only fought once at HW. He didn't prove much at hw

If HW suck compared to LHW. Where are all those elite LHWs coming up and taking names. That's small man talk.
OSP and Gustaffson failed at HW. Rest didn't even try.

I do agree Jon is the Goat at LHW and also overal in MMA. But he is a vague HW champ. 3 years of inactivity the won one fight. He did not prove he is the hest HW. Gane is a good win, but it's 1 win. It's a business thing to have Jones as HW champ.

could also be that you're biased and emotionally invested.

What you're doing is equivalent to MMA math

Jones had some tough fights at LHW, what could he possibly do at HW?

That's not how things work.

It's also very clear that Jones was going through the motions by the end of his LHW tenure. Even the roundtable consisting of Rashad, Smith, DC and Reyes acknowledged before the Gane bout that Jones just wasn't as invested in some of his LHW fights. Smith said he felt like Jones could've put it on him but chose not to.

Jones was basically at the top of the mountain by a huge margin at 23 years old. He could basically coast and still beat almost everyone. That plays a huge factor when it comes to motivation and performing at your full potential for every fight.

This isn't uncommon when it comes to champions who've been at the top for a long time, it reaches a point where you need something to get your blood pumping. A challenge to overcome, like Jones himself said, butterflies are information.

And there's definitely been fights where Jones simply didn't have that healthy fear, which reflected in his performance.

Even GSP said that he never sleeps well before most of his fights, but before the Serra loss, he slept like a baby.

I believe this is responsible for some of Jon's least impressive performances. Reyes, Santos, OSP, even Gus 1.

DC was Jon's greatest rival, he'd be the first to tell you that DC as an opponent was his greatest test. If you go and watch his fights against DC, that was a different Jon Jones. Using every conceivable tool in his kit, attacking from the first second.

There's a stark difference to how seriously Jon took those fights compared to some others on his resume.

Jones was simply a different fighter depending on who he fought, frequently fighting to the level of his opponents.

When Jones is at his best, he's a problem for any fighter that has ever lived. Regardless of the division. For that matter, so is DC.

HW simply isn't as good as people think it is. It's always been the oldest, least skilled, least well rounded division in the sport.

Tom is good, he's one of the few examples of a well rounded, reasonably technical fighter at HW. But he doesn't bring anything to the table that Jon hasn't already seen.

And again, It seems like a lot of people don't even seem to be aware of what makes Jon as good as he is. So confidently picking these guys over him, without even a second thought.


You can call it dickriding, in reality, people are just a little ridiculous when it comes to analyzing anything Jon Jones. He gets people in their feelings and rationality goes out the window.

 

[AstralPanda]

Just having a hard time right now. Waiting on hearing back from another neurosurgeon for my neck because of another Dr's screw up, been playing phone tag while in crazy stupid pain. Usually I'll play along so it's my bad. Anyway, have yourself a good day, cheers.

blessings to you sir. I wish you a speedy healing and recovery.

 

[g*r*b]

I also do not get the little dick riders for Aspinall. He is just now a known commodity at HW, which is a waste land. It amazes me that people claim he should be in front of Stipe when Aspinall was not even on the horizon or even a twinkle in the HW division when the Stipe and Jones fight was made.Now all of a sudden this guy must now jump the line after becoming interim champion when the Stipe and Jones fight was already signed.

I know the crying about jones and his statements is normal but is odd to see.

This back and forth is common in the UFC, and is nothing new. Aspinall could fight Blaydes again, a guy he lost too but does not want too, because he wants a big money, big name fight in Jon Jones. So, what is the difference, Aspinall is ducking blaydes again or he wants a big money fight.

Aspinall could rerun the blaydes fight, the one he lost. The truth is Aspinall is a no name guy who wants to jump the line outside of he is a new and young opponent. Jones is in his later years and wants big cash payouts so i see the same thing.

Let Stipe and Jones come to pass and then talk

9 out of 10 times a situation like this comes up, fans complain about the UFC handing out undeserved interim titles the minute the champ is injured. 9 out of 10 times, they'll fume how the challenger who'd gone through camp and all is getting shoved aside for the new hotness.

But because HW was stalled for so long and Stipe's been out for so long (and getting long in the tooth), everybody seems to want this to be that 10th time. And suddenly they treat the guy plucked from the couch and shoved into a insta-interim as the "real HW champ". I like Aspinall and all, but it's silly.

 

[snaportap21]

Anderson used steroids to recover from his leg break. Cormier didn’t eye poke anywhere near as much as Jon. It was Jon’s biggest weapon on his come up and for about 90% of his title fights. Once they forced him to close his hands he struggled in pretty much every fight - OSP, Reyes, Santos etc

I know you’re delusional and in denial so I don’t expect any kind of intelligent response

struggled against osp? lmao you're too much fam.

 

[AstralPanda]

Cormier was flagrant in his eye pokes, intentionally gouging opponents. Jones simply kept his fingers extended.

As for "struggled in pretty much every fight," the rules changes took effect at the start of 2017. Since that point, Jones KOed DC, KOed Gus, 48-44ed Smith (50-44 without the foul), and finished Gane. If you want to count OSP, that was also 50-45 (one judge scored it 50-44). That's five dominant victories compared to the two closer fights with Reyes and Santos. If that's "struggling in pretty much every fight" to you, you've got some ridiculously high standards.

the guy you're responding to has some of the worst takes I've ever seen

 

[Vulve]

juicy jon ducking the real hw champ

hes scared shitless of tom

 

[storeybuckle]

"There will be legendary tales told about you and your legendary call outs."

I think this confirms Jones will never step up to fight interim champ Aspinall.

Jones is the paper champ, Aspinall is the real champ.

I like Aspinall and all but “real champ?” Come on now!

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Ngannou was a risk. Having Sergei as the backup was a risk.

According to Chael, Jon agreed to fight 3 names before his initial comeback.

I'm sure he wasn't going out of his way to fight Sergei, but in the event someone pulled out, he was the backup.

Every indication is that Jones signed on to fight for the HW belt in march, long before Ngannou ever left.

Spending 2 years bulking to fight at HW was a risk.

Let's be realistic here.



The tom fight Is high risk, low reward. He'll make substantially less to do so. It has more to do with money and business than anything. When you've already fought everyone, I don't think you're going out of your way to fight every next comer if you don't have to.

If Tom had some hype behind his name and marketability, this would all look very different. But he doesn't.

Jon never fought Ngannou or Sergei. There literally no risk there whatsoever. Jon never signed to fight Francis and had no obligation to fight Sergei is Stipe pulled out. UFC chooses back ups, no the champs. Jon took no risk in either of these. Ridiculous to bring that up.

Jon had to fight someone for his initial comeback. It's not a risk if you don't have a choice. It's fight or no getting back the title. Fight or stay broke. That's just shit that you have to do as a fighter.

Sitting on your ass for 2 years until Francis leaves is the exact opposite of a risk. Jon could have moved up at any time, years and years ago. He didn't want to fight Stipe in his prime. Said so explicitly. Didn't want to fight DC at HW. Said so explicitly. Jon waited for the lowest risk opponent and it payed off.

Jon vs Stipe is an uninteresting fight. Stipe was not a huge sell in his prime and Jon sells fairly consistently regardless of his opponents. He won't fight Tom because the risk of LOSING is far greater. The risk of damaging his legacy is very real. Stipe is not a risk and that is the reason Jon will fight him.

I don't see the point in being delusional and defending Jon so fervently when he has been explicitly cautious throughout his career. AND THAT IS FINE! You only get one career. One shot in an unforgiving sport. If you want to be cautious then I'm down for it. The game is selfish. HOWEVER, there is no way in hell I'm gonna sit here and deny reality to placate a grown ass man. Tom is the obvious challenge. Anyone else is a joke at this point. If Tom defends his belt then Jon's belt is essentially mud.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

I have no idea how anyone can say Jon is scared or ducking anyone at HW. Everyone just seems to forget that Jon has been fighting guys with skill sets as good as Tom's if not better for over a decade. There's no way Jon was ever going to lose to a Striker with white belt level grappling skills like Gane or a flat footed plodding 1 dimensional striker like Sergei if the fight ended up happening. Jon has a wealth of experience and is very crafty, he would find a way to beat Tom and thinking that Tom would just roll over Jon is laughable.

 

[AstralPanda]

Jon never fought Ngannou or Sergei. There literally no risk there whatsoever. Jon never signed to fight Francis and had no obligation to fight Sergei is Stipe pulled out. UFC chooses back ups, no the champs. Jon took no risk in either of these. Ridiculous to bring that up.

Jon had to fight someone for his initial comeback. It's not a risk if you don't have a choice. It's fight or no getting back the title. Fight or stay broke. That's just shit that you have to do as a fighter.

Sitting on your ass for 2 years until Francis leaves is the exact opposite of a risk. Jon could have moved up at any time, years and years ago. He didn't want to fight Stipe in his prime. Said so explicitly. Didn't want to fight DC at HW. Said so explicitly. Jon waited for the lowest risk opponent and it payed off.

Jon vs Stipe is an uninteresting fight. Stipe was not a huge sell in his prime and Jon sells fairly consistently regardless of his opponents. He won't fight Tom because the risk of LOSING is far greater. The risk of damaging his legacy is very real. Stipe is not a risk and that is the reason Jon will fight him.

I don't see the point in being delusional and defending Jon so fervently when he has been explicitly cautious throughout his career. AND THAT IS FINE! You only get one career. One shot in an unforgiving sport. If you want to be cautious then I'm down for it. The game is selfish. HOWEVER, there is no way in hell I'm gonna sit here and deny reality to placate a grown ass man. Tom is the obvious challenge. Anyone else is a joke at this point. If Tom defends his belt then Jon's belt is essentially mud.

Every indication is that Jones had come to an agreement to fight for the HW title long before Ngannou actually left.

Dana, Chael and Ariel said he was back mid 2022. He was briefly linked to a Stipe Miocic fight back in December of that year.

Before finally being linked to the March card in 2023 to fight for the hw belt in December, which is when he ended up fighting Gane.

According to Chael, on video, Jon agreed to 3 names and doesn't get enough credit for doing so.

Chael hates Jon and basically shits on him at every opportunity. There's no reason for him to say anything to make him look good.

The ngannou fight would've happened, had he signed the contract. They only went with Gane as a plan B when he didn't.

Sergei was also the confirmed alternate for that card.

They wouldn't offer Ngannou 8 mil to fight Jones under the contingency that he might sign. Jones was already back.

The media did nothing but make it absolutely clear that Ngannou was in contract negotiations up until the very moment he left.

If Jones hadn't already come to an agreement, they would have done the same for him, just as Dana had done before.

This idea that he waited until Francis left is a myth not based in reality.

He was the first one to call out ngannou back in 2021, talking about a super fight between them but wants a bump in pay.

He spent 2 years bulking to fight at HW. That isn't sitting around. And it's very clear that Jones wanted big money and big fights or he wouldn't even be doing it.

Fighting for the belt was the only thing you could possibly be preparing for if you're Jones. Who held the belt? Ngannou. Who did he call out back in 2021? Ngannou. Who did he clown after Frank's fight against Gane? Ngannou

If you read between the lines, this was always supposed to be the fight.

At the end of the day, Jones signed the contract. Ngannou didn't. Every thing else is just people living in a fantasy world, believing things that aren't based in reality.

If Frank signed the contract, the fight would've happened. Its that simple. Twisting it in the opposite direction is the delusion here.

in regards to Tom

It's purely business. Which was the entire reason for him moving to HW go begin with.

Taking a high risk, low reward fight only ensures that he makes a fraction of the money that he would against a recognized, established name. In what is likely the last fight of his career.

Which option do you think most fighters would choose?

At the end of the day, this is prize fighting.

No different than Ngannou leaving for greener pastures.

 

[AstralPanda]

• Jon never fought Ngannou or Sergei. There literally no risk there whatsoever. Jon never signed to fight Francis and had no obligation to fight Sergei is Stipe pulled out. UFC chooses back ups, no the champs. Jon took no risk in either of these. Ridiculous to bring that up.
  
  Jon had to fight someone for his initial comeback. It's not a risk if you don't have a choice. It's fight or no getting back the title. Fight or stay broke. That's just shit that you have to do as a fighter.
  
  Sitting on your ass for 2 years until Francis leaves is the exact opposite of a risk. Jon could have moved up at any time, years and years ago. He didn't want to fight Stipe in his prime. Said so explicitly. Didn't want to fight DC at HW. Said so explicitly. Jon waited for the lowest risk opponent and it payed off.
  
  Jon vs Stipe is an uninteresting fight. Stipe was not a huge sell in his prime and Jon sells fairly consistently regardless of his opponents. He won't fight Tom because the risk of LOSING is far greater. The risk of damaging his legacy is very real. Stipe is not a risk and that is the reason Jon will fight him.
  
  I don't see the point in being delusional and defending Jon so fervently when he has been explicitly cautious throughout his career. AND THAT IS FINE! You only get one career. One shot in an unforgiving sport. If you want to be cautious then I'm down for it. The game is selfish. HOWEVER, there is no way in hell I'm gonna sit here and deny reality to placate a grown ass man. Tom is the obvious challenge. Anyone else is a joke at this point. If Tom defends his belt then Jon's belt is essentially mud.

HW isn't as good as people think it is.

What could beat Jon Jones is a style with competency in multiple dimensions. Astute fight iq, mindset and intelligence on multiple fronts.

Such as what we seen from DC.

Jones is the best defensive fighter in the sports history. A master at controlling, manipulating the kicking range in a way that stifles and mitigates damage, using his length in tricky ways to avoid being hit as well.

If there's anyone in the history of the sport you would not bet on a punchers chance against, It's Jones.

Tom is a breath of fresh air in that he's well rounded, technical, has some youth on his side.

But he's not the boogyman people think he is. Tell me with specific examples, what is it that Jones is afraid of? What does Tom possess that Jones hasn't seen before

I think people are just a little ridiculous when it comes to Jones. Deep down people want to see him lose, there's emotional investment attached to it.

Because he's viewed as a villain, someone who needs to be brought down a peg, or whatever the case may be.

As such, rationality goes out the window. Endless mental gymnastics and goalpost shifting in a way that attempts to frames his fight career negatively.

 

[Poirierfan]

blessings to you sir. I wish you a speedy healing and recovery.

I appreciate it, it's been so long with 3 neck surgeries now. This last one fucked everything up. They sending me to a complex neurosurgeon now. One that handles stuff that a normal neurosurgeon can't. Pfft lol

 

[BowserJr]

Tom has more than 4 known names on his resume.

Ironically JBJ only had 3 or 4 known names before fighting Shogun for the belt