Jon Jones’ apparent reluctance to accept a bout with Tom Aspinall is down to self-preservation, according to his longtime rival Daniel Cormier.
The still-hypothetical Jones-Aspinall bout has turned into one of MMA’s most long-running sagas in recent months amid Jones’ apparent lack of interest in a fight described by UFC boss Dana White as the biggest heavyweight fight in the company’s 30+ year history. Jones, for his part, has stated that he has communicated his stance on the fight to the UFC and said that he has been surprised that the organisation has yet to offer fans firm information on his future.
Aspinall, meanwhile, the UFC’s interim heavyweight champi0n since November 2023, has said that he will not fight unless it is for the undisputed championship — having previously competed in a rare interim title defence last summer. So far, though, he has drawn a blank in his pursuit of Jones — who has suggested in the media that he values ‘legacy fights’ higher than taking on Aspinall, a fighter believed by many to be possibly the biggest test of his career.
And according to Cormier, who battled Jones twice in the Octagon, Jones’ lack of interest in fighting Aspinall is due to his concern at being knocked out.
“Jon now is a 38-year-old man looking at a 30-year-old man that’s bigger, that’s younger, that’s fresher, and going — it’s flipped,” Cormier noted on his official YouTube channel, as noted by MMA Fighting, referencing Jones prior status as the youngest champion in UFC history.
“‘I don’t see the wear and tear on their faces anymore, I see the wear and tear on mine.’ He saw with Stipe, Stipe looked older from all that time away. Now he’s looking down at a young man, and he’s like, ’Eh.’
“He’s not scared, make no mistake about it,” Cormier added. “But I think it’s enough to question. And you know what I think a big worry might be for him? With Aspinall, he could potentially get knocked out. Like, legitimately knocked out and put on his back out cold. I just don’t know that he wants to have that visual of him in the world. He’s knocked out a lot of guys and he’s never had — because I’ve seen myself get beat, and I’m like, ‘God, that’s such a horrible visual every time.’”
As Aspinall himself notes, he has the shortest average fight time of any fighter currently on the roster. He has won 12 of his 15 career wins by KO (or TKO), including his past three fights at a total time of 3 minutes and 22 seconds.
But Cormier says that there is another factor at play here: Jones’ ego.
“I don’t know that he vacates without fighting him, because I think the visual and the lasting thought would be that ‘He ran from him,’ and I don’t know his ego could handle that he ran from someone,” Cormier explained. “The idea that people would think he is afraid means more to him than going out there and fighting him and taking the chance. Especially when there’s a real possibility that he just outclasses Tom Aspinall.
“There’s a real possibility that he goes out there and he outclasses Tom Aspinall. You don’t know. So I think that he will fight him. I don’t think they’ll need to strip him, I think he’ll fight him. And even though he could walk away and go, ‘I’m the best, I don’t need to do anything else.’ The idea that he ran is going to be too strong of a pull for him as he goes into the next phase of his career.”
