Fans Respond After Jones Says Miocic Will Be His Last Fight – ‘Prideful And Ducking’
Jon Jones says his fight with Stipe Miocic will likely be his last one.
Jones defends his UFC Heavyweight Title against Stipe at UFC 309 on November 16 in the first defense of his belt since beating Ciryl Gane last year. The defense has been a long time coming after Jones pulled out of the Miocic fight at UFC 295 following a pectoral muscle injury. Dana White has already confirmed that Stipe will retire after the Jones fight. Now, Bones could do the same. This will disappoint MMA fans who were hoping to see the Tom Aspinall fight.
Aspinall worked himself into a title shot after beating Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in his last fight. However, Jones has shown a lack of interest in making that fight. He was adamant that his legacy was already intact, claiming that a fight with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira was much bigger. Jones has dismissed those claims, with his next fight likely being his last.
Jones Reacts
“This is going to be the last time, going to be the last time. More than likely,” Jones said
Despite those comments, White was not convinced. The CEO of the UFC felt that Jones would test how he was feeling in the Stipe fight before making a decision. Jones has only had one UFC bout in over three years, showing he is not the most active fighter. Aspinall is in his prime, having overcome the knee injury in his first loss against Blaydes. He has stopped Marcin Tybura, Sergei Pavlovich and Blaydes in all first-round finishes.
Aspinall has been calling Jones and hitting social media numerous times, which has created the narrative that Bones is ducking him. After Jones suffered his pectoral muscle injury, Aspinall demanded that the UFC strip him so that he could face Miocic for the belt. This was with a view that the winner would then fight Jones.
Will It Happen?
Fans have already missed out on Francis Ngannou’s take on Jones. The Predator left the UFC last year after contract talks broke down. He is now with the PFL, while White promised to never work with Ngannou again. He also dismissed doing a co-promotion with the PFL. But White still had some hope that Jones would fight Aspinall.
“I think if Stipe wins, he probably will (retire). But I think if Jon Jones wins, I just think that competitive spirit that he has and his desire to prove to the world that he’s the best (will make him fight). Especially when people are saying that (Aspinall) could possibly be the best ever. I think that’s the kind of [stuff] that fires Jon Jones up,” White stated
Meanwhile, Aspinall was still intent on getting that fight.
“Give me my undisputed title. In my opinion, there should not be two champions in one weight division. This is not what UFC is about, this is not what MMA is about. There’s one guy for each weight division and I believe it’s me. So, I’ll be fighting the winner of course,” Aspinall stated
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