With rumors swirling that Jon Jones might call it quits after his highly anticipated bout with Stipe Miocic, fans have been buzzing about the potential missed matchup with the people’s heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. But according to one UFC veteran, skipping that fight won’t hurt Jones’ legacy at all. In fact, he points to Georges St-Pierre as the perfect example.
Just like with GSP, who left the sport at his peak, the veteran believes people will quickly move on, and Jones’ legendary career will remain intact, Aspinall fight or not. After all, when you’re already considered one of the GOATs, a few “what ifs” tend to fade away pretty quick.
Matt Brown recently joined a podcast with ‘MMA Fighting’ where he shared his thoughts on Jones and his future in the UFC. When asked if he felt retiring after a fight with Miocic will affect his legacy, Brown said,
“Totally agree. Maybe for a day or two there will be people on Reddit saying Jones retired cause he was scared of Aspinall. By next year he will still be the greatest ever or by next week. No one’s going to be like, ‘Oh, Jon’s not the greatest ever because he didn’t fight Tom Aspinall.’ I don’t think a single person’s going to say that. Just like with GSP it will all be forgotten.”
Matt Brown scoffs at Jon Jones’ legacy becoming tainted if he doesn’t fight Tom Aspinall:
“No one’s going to be like, ‘Oh, Jon’s not the greatest ever because he didn’t fight Tom Aspinall.’ I don’t think a single person’s going to say that.”
(: @DamonMartin) pic.twitter.com/vARMFUc6DX
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) September 4, 2024
Brown pointed out that after winning the middleweight belt against Bisping, ‘GSP’ retired rather than facing Whittaker.
While some fans bashed him for it at the time, today no one even remembers that this was a potential matchup that was being considered.
Therefore, Brown feels, it is only a matter of time before fans forget about Aspinall vs Jones as well. Interestingly, Brown is not the only one to suggest Jones avoids a fight with Aspinall either.
Former UFC champion advises Jones to avoid Aspinall
Tom Aspinall is a serious threat to anyone in the heavyweight division even if it is the consensus greatest of all time. Aspinall is fast, has serious knockout power, top-tier Jiu-Jitsu and cardio for days. All of these things combined make him a force to be reckoned with.
Oh, and did we also mention that he is eight years younger to Jon? And none of his fights even make it to the second round
This is why former champion and arch-rival Daniel Cormier believes that Jones is better off not facing Aspinall. And that seems like a possibility since the undisputed champion has seemingly been avoiding the English fighter like a plague.
Besides, all signs at the moment suggest that Jones is done after his fight with Miocic. That said, UFC president Dana White continues to believe that the competitor in Jones would like to test himself against Aspinall. But then again, he also believes Jones is the pound for pound #1 despite having fought once in four years. So, go figure!
