UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has some thoughts on the way in which Jon Jones is conducting himself as UFC heavyweight champion.
As we know, Jon Jones currently holds the gold in the heavyweight division. At the same time, Tom Aspinall is the interim heavyweight champion. Despite the fact that it makes all the sense in the world for them to fight and unify the belts, it doesn’t seem as if Jon is at all interested in making it happen. As you can imagine, this has upset quite a lot of people.
There’s no denying that Jon Jones is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. His body of work speaks for itself and although a lot of his haters don’t like to hear it, winning world titles in two weight classes is an incredible accomplishment. In equal measure, though, this latest saga certainly seems to be hurting his legacy as it continues to draw out.
For someone like Alexander Volkanovski, avoiding a fight with a top contender is not an option. He has been out there taking on the toughest assignments imaginable throughout the course of his entire career, and when asked about the Jon Jones situation in a recent interview, he didn’t hold back.
Alexander Volkanovski’s view on Jon Jones
“If you’re the champ, you defend your belt — it’s a responsibility,” Volkanovski said. “You can’t just sit out.
“You need to be reasonably active. You need to fight whoever’s there. If you’ve got an interim champ, that’s a no-brainer.
“I don’t want to throw heaps of shade, but look, I know he’s proved himself, everyone’s like, ‘Look what he’s done, it’s fine.’ No, not really.
“Don’t hold up the division. I know your résumé is incredible. You’re considered the greatest of all time,” Volkanovski added. “So if you don’t want to fight, just retire, you’re done.”
Quotes via Bloody Elbow
