Tom Aspinall praises Jon Jones’s "fight IQ" while breaking down his UFC 309 spinning back kick knockout
Tom Aspinall hailed Jon Jones as "one of the smartest fighters ever."
On November 16, the 37-year-old successfully defended his heavyweight world title for the first time with a third-round knockout finish against Stipe Miocic. Following his impressive performance in the UFC 309 main event, the MMA community quickly turned to a potential must-see matchup between Jones and Aspinall.
Aspinall claimed and defended the interim UFC heavyweight title while Jones recovered from a torn pectoral muscle. Dana White has voiced his interest in booking a unification world title matchup in 2025, but 'Bones' has repeatedly claimed he refuses to fight the 31-year-old.
Aspinall recently did a segment with TNT Sports to break down Jones' spinning back-kick finish against Miocic. The interim heavyweight title holder had this to say:
"Watch this hand. He constantly distracts you with the lead hand. So, he's keeping you busy with this before he starts to turn and starts to do these kicks. This comes first, is the front hand, look, he just paws it out before he does anything, and he does that every time. He occupies the front hand and then works his attacks off it, which is high-level fight IQ stuff from Jon Jones. He's one of the smartest fighters ever."'
Watch Tom Aspinall praise Jon Jones' fight IQ below:
Jon Jones on 'ducking' Tom Aspinall
Jon Jones explained he'd rather fight against UFC light heavyweight world champion Alex Pereira next. The 37-year-old's continuous refusal to respect Tom Aspinall and fight him has led to some fans accusing him of "ducking."
Jones has embraced the allegations by changing his social media profile pictures to a duck wearing a UFC belt. With that said, the UFC heavyweight world champion seems to be affected by insults, as he had this to say on Twitter:
"Crazy how being called a ‘duck’ pays better than most of you Internet tough guys will make in a lifetime. Two fights in four years and still one of the biggest names in the sport? That’s not ducking, that’s winning. God’s blessings hit different, stay mad."
Jon Jones has teased the possibility of vacating his UFC heavyweight world title, likely leading to Tom Aspinall's interim strap being upgraded. As for retirement, Jones has claimed he plans to fight again in 2025.