Jon Jones is being excoriated by fans for not wanting to fight interim champion Tom Aspinall. Most, of course, feel that ‘Bones’ is scared he might lose to the Englishman, and thus not willing to get into the octagon with him. After all, risking a potential loss after a de facto undefeated career doesn’t seem like the best idea for Jones and his GOAT legacy.

But Jones’ most famous foe, Daniel Cormier, doesn’t think Jones is scared at all. Instead, he just sees ‘Bones’ hesitance to fight Aspinall as a tough negotiating tactic for Jones. “Tom Aspinall to Jon Jones is just another guy that he would fight and that he believes he can beat, that’s just the truth. But what he does want is to get paid. And I think he
recognizes the dangers in the fight to give him that fight,” he said.

After all, with his undefeated record on the line, Jones wants to get paid enough to make it worth the risk, according to ‘DC’. ‘Bones’, has opened as the betting underdog – a slight underdog, but an underdog nonetheless – in a potential Aspinall clash. “I mean when this [betting] line opened, Jon Jones was an underdog. Jon Jones was the underdog. I don’t even know if there’s ever been a time in his career where someone has been favored to beat Jon Jones and I think that concerns him,” Cormier told his fans.

And this uncertainty, for Cormier, is the main reason Jones has been so dismissive of a Tom Aspinall fight. Jones, after all, has been the favorite going into virtually every fight he has been in. But Aspinall, who is naturally bigger and has a remarkably well-rounded game, presents a unique and uncomfortable problem for ‘Bones.’

“That, to Jones, raises some questions, right, because, for as many fights as he’s had, he’s always been thought to be the better guy. This guy, Tom Aspinall, is the first time that someone says there is something in him, that we will open a line where Jon Jones is not the better guy out there. For a guy who’s never had to answer those types of questions, [its] hard for him,” he added. Perhaps this is why Jones is looking to fight someone else entirely.

Jon Jones’ chances of fighting Alex Pereira go up significantly after UFC 309

Jon Jones, after defeating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 this past weekend, was clear – he wants to fight Alex Pereira next, and for good reason, too. The Brazilian light heavyweight champ, after all, is the biggest active star in the promotion, and a fight with him would not only be a huge commercial success but also add another massive legend to his resume.

Not to mention Pereira is smaller than Jones, and has little in the way of a ground game. Both of these make him a pretty favorable matchup for ‘Bones’. And even Dana White has softened on a possible Jones-Pereira clash. While the UFC CEO had been clear that Jones would fight Aspinall and only Aspinall after Miocic, that was before UFC 309. White was more amenable to Jones’ dream matchup after the event.

“It [Jones-Pereira] just doesn’t make sense to make that fight. If they want it bad enough and they’re both hounding me or something, maybe I would do it,” White said at the post-UFC 309 presser. What do you think about Daniel Cormier’s take on the Jon Jones-Tom Aspinall situation? Let us know in the comments down below.