For months now, UFC fans and fighters have been accusing Jon Jones of ducking the interim heavyweight champion Aspinall. However, Team Khabib’s coach Javier Mendez doesn’t think that is the case.
Jones is supposed to be fighting in a title unification bout with the Brit some time this year, but according to reports, he has yet to sign the papers. Aspinall has now openly called him a duck twice in public- once on the Impaulsive Podcast with Logan Paul and the second time at UFC London last month, where he showed up with a rubber toy.
So, when Mendez’s co-host Mohannad Azizah asked him if he thought Jones was actively avoiding Aspinall, the AKA head coach claimed the heavyweight champion had no reason to.
“He’s a perfectionist, this guy will do everything he can to win. He’s a winner, he knows how to win. And he’ll do certain things that are ethical or unethical, just so he can win”, Mendez said.
He cited the example of Jones vs. Belfort, set to take place at UFC 152, with many claiming it would be Jones’ toughest test of his career. However, Belfort pulled out of the fight at the last minute, and Chael Sonnen offered to step in.
Even then, Jones refused to take the fight on short notice, so was he scared? Well, according to Mendez, it wasn’t the fear of loss but a lack of preparation that had stopped Jones back then, as it continues to do now.
He pointed out that Jones did end up fighting Sonnen with a full training camp at UFC 159 in 2013, and demolished him. And as far as the ‘ethical or unethical’ part goes, Jones’ troubles with PEDs and eye poking have all been very well documented.
However, since Jones has only fought twice in five years, Mendez hasn’t been sold on his greatness either. At least, not in his current state.
Mendez believes Islam has overtaken Jones
In an interview with Hablemos MMA, Mendez had explained that one couldn’t claim to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world on the back of two fights since 2020.
“No, you need to fight more than that (for pound-for-pound best). If Islam were to do the same, I’d put Jon Jones at No. 1 – but he hasn’t fought (as much). If he had been active, then it’s a different conversation – but he’s barely fought”, the AKA head coach had said.
Mendez also mentioned the example of Jones’s fight with Miocic at UFC 309 last year, a bout where the challenger was 42 years old and hadn’t fought since 2021.
So, even though Jones won the fight, it was a poor example of his capabilities.
Islam, on the other hand, has been on a 15-fight win streak- his last victory having come against Renato Moicano on a 48-hour notice at UFC 311 earlier this year.
The four fights he had before this have been against former lightweight and featherweight champions, all of whom he has defeated with ease.
However, should Jones take on Aspinall and defeat him, he will very likely reignite the pound-for-pound debate amongst the community.
