Francis Ngannou’s coach opens up on his dialogue with Tom Aspinall about strategy for Jon Jones fight
Tom Aspinall has previously worked with Francis Ngannou's longtime MMA coach, Eric Nicksick. The head trainer at Xtreme Couture recently shed light on his conversation with the interim champion following Jon Jones' win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
Jones successfully defended his heavyweight title against Miocic, and all indications are that 'Bones' will face off against Aspinall in a title unification bout, should the American fight one more time.
During the build-up to facing Miocic, the two-division champion expressed his desire to face light heavyweight king Alex Pereira. Jones shut down any suggestions that he will face the Mancunian next, despite UFC CEO Dana White's eagerness to schedule the "biggest heavyweight fight of all time."
Nicksick was recently interviewed by The Schmo, where he lifted the lid on recent talks with Aspinall about a potential gameplan for Jones. He said:
"I actually talked to Tom on Monday, we were going back and forth a little bit on some of the gameplanning things. You can't be in that B-range at just get snaked-charmed by Jon, let him grab your hands and let him dictate the pace... You have to be hyper aggressive in those positions."
Watch Eric Nicksick discuss his work with Tom Aspinall below (3:20):
Tom Aspinall remains coy on potential openings in Jon Jones' game after seeing him live
Tom Aspinall was the official backup fighter for Jon Jones' clash with Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. With both men making it to the octagon on fight night, Aspinall was able to watch the main event from the front row.
After that, he admitted that after seeing 'Bones' fight live for the first time, he noticed some potential openings in the American's fighting style that he might be able to exploit.
He was interviewed by ESPN MMA after the event, where he said this:
"I had only seen Jon Jones fight on the TV before. This is the first time I had ever seen him up close... I was almost an arm's length from the UFC octagon... I am so happy that I got to see an up-close version of what Jon Jones looks like at 38 years old at the back end of his career. I'm very satisfied."
When asked what stood out for him, Aspinall said:
"The speed, just the speed. There is no chance that he can.. I don't want to say too much."
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below (3:35):