So, just based off general information I've been keeping up with UFC, perspectives from many UFC commentators, promoters speaking, guys who make videos for the UFC... Dana White post conferences... Just all those things... Fighters' interviews, like Aspinall in the Ariel show, Chael when talking to Aspinall, etc etc... I've free time now and in a week I'll be busy and just stop following UFC (I've had enough, can't let it get into me anymore when work resumes lulz) so I dug deeper more than ever.
I don't think Aspinall and Jones is likely to happen. I can be wrong, those guys that have all the information, they speak in riddles, like, they use fighters like Michael Chandler, Paddy the Baddy, Connor.... To mean other fighters without telling that directly and it's tough to decipher, and I don't know if I have, but I think I have an idea of what is leading up to... I think it's a high possibility that they know, Jon Jones knows, that Jon Jones might not be competitive anymore against top ranked guys from LHW (like Poatan, Ankalaev) nor against Aspinall... It's possible (again, it all comes from piece of informations that I needed to dig kinda deep to "understand" the point) that Aspinall knows the JJ's fight is just not happening and they know JJ has run its course, he is not competitive enough anymore, be it against Poatan or Aspinall.
Jon Jones is more like a household name that helps to get the attention needed, but in terms of a challenge for Aspinall, there is no one other than Poatan (and Ankalaev)... Ankalalev won't go up to HW, so I think that's why Dana had a funeral's face when Ankalaev won. His hopes might be for Poatan vs Aspinall, and a convincing win from Poatan against Ankalaev, with him showing his takedown defense (which he did) but dominating and/or KO'ing would elevate Poatan to a level people would feel his fight with Aspinall would be massive.
And tbh, it still is, I think that the organization doesn't look at anyone that presents a challenge other than Poatan and Ankalaev (again tho, Ankalaev is not moving up and him vs Aspinall wouldn't sell up mas well as Pereira vs Aspinall). With Ankalaev winning, even though it was a really close fight, it kinda lowers the stocks for Tom vs Poatan quite a bit. Not that it wouldn't be competitive, I think that Poatan not cutting weight and weighing at his natural weight (which is 240 pounds, officially... He is actually naturally heavier than JJ) and adding a little more to it, like, 250 pounds, it'd be a real challenge and a huge match. People have the perception that HWs are better, but that's not true, LHWs in general have way more skills than HWs... In general. For example, Jon Jones vs Gane, while Jones had close matches against Reyes, Santos... The competition in LHW is just naturally way tougher, due to the skill set.
Poatan has all it takes to be the best fighter in HW vs Aspinall, as he is naturally bigger than LHW. Aspinall seemed to be rooting for Poatan to win. Not that he thinks he can easily beat Poatan now that Ankalaev won, but... The perception of the casual fans matter a lot. If he's a huge favourite even though in reality he is not, that isn't good. He wants people to see the match as what it MIGHT be — the biggest challenge of his career... But people in general have a certain bias towards HWs being on a different category, while in reality it just is not... I think Aspinall was trying to hide it but he wanted Pereira to win — like in the first round, when Pereira landed that head kick and the jabs that stunned Ankalaev, Aspinall was like "yes, good jab though, good jab Pereira..." ... I think he let in at that moment that he was hoping for Alex to win... Since that's the fight that realistically (again, that's a theory) will happen, be competitive and draw a huge PPV due to Alex's name... While JJ may just be out of the level needed to compare against either Poatan or Aspinall...
I don't think Aspinall and Jones is likely to happen. I can be wrong, those guys that have all the information, they speak in riddles, like, they use fighters like Michael Chandler, Paddy the Baddy, Connor.... To mean other fighters without telling that directly and it's tough to decipher, and I don't know if I have, but I think I have an idea of what is leading up to... I think it's a high possibility that they know, Jon Jones knows, that Jon Jones might not be competitive anymore against top ranked guys from LHW (like Poatan, Ankalaev) nor against Aspinall... It's possible (again, it all comes from piece of informations that I needed to dig kinda deep to "understand" the point) that Aspinall knows the JJ's fight is just not happening and they know JJ has run its course, he is not competitive enough anymore, be it against Poatan or Aspinall.
Jon Jones is more like a household name that helps to get the attention needed, but in terms of a challenge for Aspinall, there is no one other than Poatan (and Ankalaev)... Ankalalev won't go up to HW, so I think that's why Dana had a funeral's face when Ankalaev won. His hopes might be for Poatan vs Aspinall, and a convincing win from Poatan against Ankalaev, with him showing his takedown defense (which he did) but dominating and/or KO'ing would elevate Poatan to a level people would feel his fight with Aspinall would be massive.
And tbh, it still is, I think that the organization doesn't look at anyone that presents a challenge other than Poatan and Ankalaev (again tho, Ankalaev is not moving up and him vs Aspinall wouldn't sell up mas well as Pereira vs Aspinall). With Ankalaev winning, even though it was a really close fight, it kinda lowers the stocks for Tom vs Poatan quite a bit. Not that it wouldn't be competitive, I think that Poatan not cutting weight and weighing at his natural weight (which is 240 pounds, officially... He is actually naturally heavier than JJ) and adding a little more to it, like, 250 pounds, it'd be a real challenge and a huge match. People have the perception that HWs are better, but that's not true, LHWs in general have way more skills than HWs... In general. For example, Jon Jones vs Gane, while Jones had close matches against Reyes, Santos... The competition in LHW is just naturally way tougher, due to the skill set.
Poatan has all it takes to be the best fighter in HW vs Aspinall, as he is naturally bigger than LHW. Aspinall seemed to be rooting for Poatan to win. Not that he thinks he can easily beat Poatan now that Ankalaev won, but... The perception of the casual fans matter a lot. If he's a huge favourite even though in reality he is not, that isn't good. He wants people to see the match as what it MIGHT be — the biggest challenge of his career... But people in general have a certain bias towards HWs being on a different category, while in reality it just is not... I think Aspinall was trying to hide it but he wanted Pereira to win — like in the first round, when Pereira landed that head kick and the jabs that stunned Ankalaev, Aspinall was like "yes, good jab though, good jab Pereira..." ... I think he let in at that moment that he was hoping for Alex to win... Since that's the fight that realistically (again, that's a theory) will happen, be competitive and draw a huge PPV due to Alex's name... While JJ may just be out of the level needed to compare against either Poatan or Aspinall...
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