Jon Jones' six-month demand could be detrimental to Tom Aspinall, says former UFC champion
Demetrious Johnson believes Jon Jones reportedly asking for a six-month training camp before fighting Tom Aspinall is terrible news for the Englishman. The former UFC champion recently shared his thoughts on the matter and explained why Jones' six-month demand would be detrimental to Aspinall.
While Dana White has clearly stated that the Jones-Aspinall fight will take place this year, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani recently revealed that 'Bones' has asked for a six-month training period once the bout is booked. This would mean that if the fight is booked soon, it would actually go down in later in the second-half of 2025.
In a recent interview on Submission Radio, Johnson shared his two cents on Jones delaying the undisputed heavyweight title fight further and how it would affect Aspinall. He said:
"That six months. I'm not the biggest fan of him [Jones] wanting six months. If I was Tom Aspinall, I'd be like, 'Dude, I'm not fucking waiting for six months. Y'all need to give me another fight.' But then again, this could be the biggest fight of his career, if he's able to beat Jon Jones. So, I have mixed feelings on that six months thing, you know what I mean?"
He continued:
"I think when you put an athlete who's young like that on ice and they don't get that ring time and they don't get that opportunity to get out there and just fight and make that money, I think it's a little bit different."
Catch Demetrious Johnson's comments below (19:06):
Michael Bisping shares a bold opinion on a potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall title fight
Michael Bisping recently shared his thoughts on a potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall title fight and reacted to the betting odds released ahead of the highly anticipated bout.
During an interview with Carl Froch, Bisping reacted to Aspinall being a slight favorite to win the undisputed UFC heavyweight title over Jones, per DraftKings. Agreeing with the bookmaker's odds, Bisping said:
"And he should be. Listen, Jon Jones is great, and you can’t deny what he’s done in the octagon... However, everyone meets their match eventually. I think Tom Aspinall is the new generation, he’s the new breed, and he will go down probably as the greatest mixed martial artist that we’ve ever had."
Sharing a bold prediction, he continued:
“Tom’s the whole package. Tom’s like a heavyweight Georges St-Pierre. He’s got no weak areas. He’s got absolute knockout power, super disciplined, super agile on the feet, he finishes everyone really, really quickly... I would be very surprised, and this sounds disrespectful, but I’d be very surprised if it got out of the first round." [H/t: MMA Junkie]
Watch the full episode below: