Jon Jones’ stance on his title unification pairing with UFC rival Tom Aspinall continues to falter. But as far as former referee John McCarthy is concerned, the former is just too good at mental warfare.
Jones, who currently holds a portion of the heavyweight crown, continues to delay his return to action later this year. And despite claims from UFC CEO, Dana White, that he is “very confident” of booking a fight between the former and Aspinall, Jones has remained coy on the pairing.
Currently enjoying a tour of Asia alongside former UFC star, Nate Diaz, Jones has taken an extended vacation in Thailand in recent weeks — goading British favorite, Aspinall, in the process across social media.
Insisting he is unsure if he’s actually ready to retire from combat sports, Jones seems to find the funny side of holding up the career of Aspinall.
Urging naysayers of his conduct to “cry more” when it comes to his faltering fight with Aspinall, Jones has been defended by former referee-turned-analyst McCarthy. In his assessment, Jones doesn’t necessarily need to walk to the beat of anyone’s drum, only his own.
“You’ve gotta learn not to give a sh*t about what anyone thinks,” McCarthy said on his WEIGHING IN podcast. “And if you do, it’s gonna affect you. And Jon (Jones) is a master at not giving a f*ck what anybody — I don’t care who says it. In the end, he doesn’t give a damn,” he argued.
McCarthy claims that at this stage of his career, Jones is playing smart, letting the UFC know of his plans and just allowing the events to play out as they are without influencing them.
“And he is — you can look at the different fights that he’s had and the different animosities with certain fighters, he’s a master at getting under people’s skin. He’s good at it,” he asserted, adding that while Jones’ methods were distinguishable from Conor McGregor’s or Chael Sonnen’s, they were effective.
Meanwhile, while Jones is apparently living his best life away from competition, Aspinall has spoken candidly of the effects inactivity is playing on his mind.
Aspinall claims Jones is taxing him mentally
Himself out of action since the summer of last year, Atherton star Aspinall joined a very exclusive club at UFC 304 in his home country.
Successfully avenging his sole promotional defeat, Aspinall landed a one-sided first-round knockout win over perennial contender Curtis Blaydes, defending his interim championship at UFC 304 last year.
However, he has since remained inactive, waiting for Jones to sign the papers for a title unification fight.
And this week, growing ever more impatient on his fighting future, Aspinall told ex-UFC star, Demetrious Johnson how his time away from the Octagon is really taking a toll on him.
“I’ve been almost a year inactive with no prospect of anything apart from wait…” Aspinall said. “It’s kind of difficult mentally. This is the fight against Jon Jones, the fight is another thing,” he added.
Aspinall has also asserted that while Jones is the next fight, he doesn’t actually care much for the feud. As far as he is concerned, the only concern on his mind is to be the undisputed heavyweight champion, regardless of how it works itself out.
