Jon Jones Dismisses Tom Aspinall, Nate Diaz’s Weight Struggles

Jon Jones has downplayed the threat posed by Tom Aspinall to his UFC heavyweight title.
Aspinall returned to the octagon after a year out, as he suffered a knee injury in his first-round loss to Curtis Blaydes. Prior to that loss, Aspinall was undefeated.
However, the Brit bounced back with a first-round KO win over Marcin Tybura after just 73 seconds.
Thereafter, Aspinall called out Jon Jones as he highlighted his intention to become a UFC heavyweight champion this year.
“Jon Jones knows I exist, that’s a win in itself. I’m buzzing with that. I’ve been saying this all week, what I want to do is obviously win my fights going forward but I also want to motivate Jon Jones to stick around and fight me. That is my absolute dream mate, the thought of that. I think I match up well against him. It’s a dream fight of mine,” Aspinall said
Despite this being the case, Jones dismissed Aspinall’s threat. The champion recalled the perceived threat that had been posed by Ciryl Gane. However, Jones returned to the Octagon after three years out, to beat Gane with a first-round-submission win.
Jon Jones’ Comments
“Everyone’s the next big thing until I beat them. And then it’s like well. Who was that guy anyway? Just a few months ago Gane was the absolute future of MMA. Best foot work, fastest heavy weight we have ever seen. The most athletic. Now everyone’s like who the hell is that guy.”
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve been in a deja vu, everyone’s going to be the guy to kick my ass. Meanwhile, I’m over here undefeated with a face full of gray hairs,” Jones stated
But before Jones can think about Aspinall, he faces Stipe Miocic on November 11th, 2023, at UFC 295. But if he does come out victorious, then the talk may turn to Aspinall once again.
From one MMA star to another, Nate Diaz opened up on the toughest opponent that he has ever faced.
The MMA star is currently gearing up to face Jake Paul on August 5th, 2023, in a mega-crossover boxing event.
While that may be the case, Diaz’s last fight was a fourth-round-submission win over Tony Ferguson in 2022 at UFC 279, as he will make his boxing debut against Paul.
And yet, Diaz has indicated that he intends to return to the UFC at some point in the future. Despite having a memorable two fights with Conor McGregor, Diaz named Josh Neer as his toughest opponent.
The two faced each other at UFC Fight Night in 2008, as Diaz won via a split decision. With that being said, this is what Diaz had to say.
“I always say it, but there’s a guy that I fought named Josh Neer. He’s a motherf***er. He’s my boy now though, we’re homies…So they gave me Josh Neer, who was one of the Top 5 guys.
“That’s right when I started to fight top people. And it was my hardest fight…I watched him fight so much, and then trained so perfect for him that everything was like – he’d throw punches, I slipped it right under it, grabbed him and everything. But he countered everything and it was like if you watch that fight, me versus Josh Neer, it’s a hundred miles an hour. It’s a good fight,” Diaz
Outside of his MMA career, Diaz also opened up on his weight training for the Paul fight. The bout has been scheduled at 185 lbs, which required Diaz to put on some pounds.
But that was much more difficult than first thought, as Diaz outlined his struggles which did impact his training.
“I did feel [slower] at first when I was eating and trying to get big because I was on a weight gain diet, eating all kinds of stuff to get as big as I could.
“To a certain point I was like ‘Dude, I’m lazy and tired and I’m working out like a meathead right now.’ I was lifting weights, bodybuilding and all that stuff. It made me tired and lazy from carrying the extra weight, just made me drowsy.
“At a certain point I just eased up on it and created a new plan, then I had a lot more energy and started doing more things. I was eating a lot at first and blowing up as much as I could, now I do a fast for half the day and get down when I get down,” Diaz stated
Jones and Diaz are the sport’s most colorful characters. And with two big fights coming up for the pair, it is vital that they keep on winning to carry the momentum further. Time will tell how things pan out coming fight night.
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