Daniel Cormier can’t get on board with the idea that Jon Jones is ducking Tom Aspinall.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) has created waves in the MMA community ahead of his scheduled heavyweight championship defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) by claiming he has no interest in a title unification bout with interim champ Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), should he get his hand raised.
According to Jones, the efforts of Aspinall inside the octagon have “done nothing” to generate appeal in that matchup, and if he doesn’t retire at UFC 309, the only intriguing fight to him at this point is with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Those comments have led to people claiming Jones is ducking a showdown with Aspinall. Despite his history with “Bones,” however, UFC Hall of Famer and analyst Cormier refuses to believe that notion, although he doesn’t like the line of logic his rival and former two-time opponent Jones is bringing to the table.
“‘Shogun’ (Rua) had to fight Jon Jones back in the day, ‘Rampage’ (Jackson) had to fight Jon Jones back in the day. Those guys were big names that fought him as the young guy that was the champion, and he made a name off of all those legends, so by the time I got to him, he was a legend,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “He was a legend already in 2016, 2015. He was already a legend in five years, and that was only because he had beaten all those great guys before. It really is the tale of sport, the tale of entertainment. Before Michael Jordan could become Michael Jordan, he had to go through the Detroit Pistons who were winning in the 80s. He had to beat the Boston Celtics to get to the finals, who were going back-and-forth with the Lakers. The old guard has to get passed through for the new guard to happen. So for Jon to say he’s a nobody – but is he really?
“He’s a world champion. He’s the world champ, honestly. That’s who he is. He is the No. 2 heavyweight in the world. He’s the interim champ. He’s not a guy that’s just working his way through the division. It’s a guy that has smashed the division. I think my biggest issue with that is the final statement, though. Not giving him an opportunity to make a name off me. But you’re Jon Jones. Most people would still expect him to beat Tom Aspinall, or am I wrong? Are more people expecting Tom Aspinall to beat Jones? Maybe I’m off base. Maybe the idea is that Tom Aspinall is going to beat Jon Jones?”
Cormier can’t buy into the concept Jones has fear of Aspinall, or any man, given his body of work in the sport over nearly 15 years at the top of the game. He is far more sold on the idea of risk management, though, and thinks Jones is ultimately playing a game to lure more money out of the UFC.
“Look, Jon Jones isn’t afraid of Tom Aspinall,” Cormier said. “I wish people would stop saying that. He is not afraid of that guy. He is not afraid of anyone. He is not afraid to fight this guy. He’s not. I think he’s trying to be more strategic. He’s trying to make sure his legacy stands. I don’t know it could ever be faded. I know we have short memories, but could you ever forget what he did? I don’t think him fighting Tom Aspinall with the potential he would lose is a bad thing. But most would expect him to win the fight. But at the end of the day, the old guard has to get passed through for the new guard to go. Unless you don’t play the sport by the way that everyone else does it. Everyone else does it that way. Maybe Jones will be different.
“I would believe that he is negotiating publicly. Trying to get more money, and make the UFC go, ‘I need this fight because (the fans) want it so bad.’ Then they give him a number he can’t refuse.”
Cormier said he understands why Jones would be open to fighting Pereira given the stylistic advantages his holds over the 205-pound champ. But given the existence of Aspinall, he just doesn’t like the entire optics of what’s going on.
“Yeah, Jon Jones would prefer that matchup (with Alex Pereira) because it’s much less risky than fighting Tom Aspinall,” Cormier said. “Would a Pereira vs. Jones pay-per-view sell more than Tom Aspinall? Absolutely. So financially, he does have a point. That is the biggest money fight for him with the less risk. People now know Pereira. But at the end of the day you have the (interim) heavyweight champion who is nipping at the bud, and weighing in in New York.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.