Former UFC star Dan Hardy believes Jon Jones’ ongoing dismissals of Tom Aspinall will result in long-term consequences.
Jon Jones has repeatedly dismissed interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, including in the immediate aftermath of his UFC 309 victory.
After finishing Stipe Miocic and with a chance to call out Aspinall in his post-fight interview, Jones refused to acknowledge the cage-side Aspinall, although he hinted the door is open if he and the UFC can come to terms. Jones previously teased retirement but pivoted on that stance after his UFC 309 win.
Jones, arguably the greatest UFC fighter of all time, has been mocked relentlessly by Aspinall and his fans in recent weeks for ‘ducking’ the matchup. But, Jones seemed to embrace this narrative in a post-UFC 309 social media update.
Regardless, Jones continues to belittle Aspinall in favor of a potential super fight with Alex Pereira. UFC CEO Dana White isn’t interested in Jones vs. Pereira and is confident he can secure the Jones vs. Aspinall fight next year.
A former UFC title challenger, and currently a top analyst, believes Jones’ ongoing Aspinall exclusions will come back to bite him.
Dan Hardy questions whether or not Jon Jones is world’s top heavyweight after Tom Aspinall belittling
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, MMA analyst and former UFC fighter Dan Hardy analyzed Jones brushing aside Aspinall.
“This is entirely me speaking as a fan, but I don’t think it was good for his brand to say those things about Tom,” Hardy said of Jones. “What I want for a champion in any division, especially the heavyweight champ, I want to hear them say ‘Any person, put them in front of me, and I’ll destroy them’. That’s what we would want the heavyweight champ to be, we’d want them to be this ultimate destroyer that is the scariest, most dominant person on the planet…
“As soon as you hear that person say ‘I don’t want to fight this guy. Who is he? Is it worth my time? Me risking my legacy?’, that was very much a telling statement, I think…it just didn’t seem like a good look to me…maybe he’s not the best heavyweight!”
Some, including Jones’ former rival Daniel Cormier, believe Aspinall is the legitimate heavyweight champion after UFC 309. Aspinall defended the interim heavyweight title during Jones’ recent injury recovery and Miocic booking, finishing Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.
Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall negotiations will be a hot topic in the coming months
After his successful heavyweight title defense, Jones will meet with the UFC brass in hopes of coming to terms on a lucrative contract to return. Jones hasn’t ruled out potentially vacating the heavyweight title in exchange for the promotion granting him a clash with Pereira.
Aspinall earned the interim UFC heavyweight title by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich last year at UFC 295. Jones was supposed to headline the card against Miocic before withdrawing due to injury, resulting in the last-second scramble to book the Aspinall vs. Pavlovich interim title bout.
As of right now, the Jones vs. Aspinall fight remains in a holding pattern, unless the UFC brass offer Jones a deal he can’t refuse. But according to Hardy, Jones has already done some damage to his image after shunning Aspinall during UFC 309 fight week.
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