Perhaps the most in-demand fight in the entire sport of mixed martial arts right now is a heavyweight title unification bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. The former, of course, is the undisputed champ but has been out of action since winning the title last year due to injury.

In the meantime, Tom Aspinall has become the interim 270-pound champ and has blown away the door with the MMA world demanding to see him take on the champ, as is tradition. However, Jones has been consistently ridiculing the prospect of a fight with the Englishman, mocking him every chance he gets. This has prompted a frustrated and desperate Aspinall to start insulting Jones in an attempt to try and provoke Jones into a fight. But Joe Rogan thinks that’s a very bad idea.

Joe Rogan warns Tom Aspinall against motivating Jon Jones

Rogan was joined by newly-minted welterweight champion Belal Muhammad on episode #162 of the JRE MMA Show. During the course of the podcast, ‘Bully B’ was struck by how insanely quick and insanely talented Tom Aspinall is. However, he did admit that he wanted to see Aspinall fight more than one or two rounds to see if he really had the stamina and endurance to go with his other athletic gifts. ” I’m like let me see him pass the first round to see if he has that cardio as well,” Muhammad told Rogan.

Joe Rogan felt Aspinall being so dominant was actually a ‘problem’ since he hadn’t really been tested in deep waters, which he is likely to go to against Jones. On the other hand, Rogan pointed to Jones’ first Alexander Gustaffson fight back in 2013, which the then-light heavyweight champ was losing until he made a strong comeback in the last two rounds to walk away with a controversial unanimous decision victory.

“It’s a bit of a problem for him, right, because he has not been tested in that way. And you know, you’re getting up to elite status where you’re you’re calling out Jon Jones, right. that’s the boogeyman, like Jon Jones is the f—ing boogeyman,” he said.

The UFC commentator then cited Jones’ UFC 232 rematch with Gustaffson five years later, where he knocked out the Swede in the third round. Rogan felt that Aspinall talking trash against Jones would only motivate the GOAT contender, which the JRE host fears will ultimately backfire for the interim champion.

“Jon Jones has had some trials and tribulations but the skill set and the ability to push deep into rounds is nuts. Like Jon fought when he fought Gustaffson he had almost no training camp… And then he pulled that fight off in the fourth and fifth rounds… And then you saw the real Jon Jones in the second fight, that’s motivated Jon Jones… And then he just beats the s–t out of Gustaffson in the second fight,” Rogan added. And while Jones has been talked up non-stop by the likes of Dana White and Joe Rogan, coach Javier Mendez has a very different view of the New Mexico resident.

Khabib’s coach explains why he thinks Jones cannot be the GOAT

The two most influential voices in MMA—Dana White and Joe Rogan—have crowned Jon Jones as the undisputed greatest of all time. But recently, Dana’s unrelenting praise for ‘Bones’ has set the internet ablaze, with accusations that White is “glazing” Jones at every opportunity. Fans aren’t just rolling their eyes; some are furious, especially with the belief that Jones might be dodging a showdown with the rising force that is Tom Aspinall.

For many, Jones allegedly ducking the interim champ is a scar that could forever tarnish his legacy. If he retires without stepping into the octagon with Aspinall, whispers will turn to shouts that ‘Bones’ was too afraid to face the English phenom. But as much as this hurts his standing, there’s a darker cloud hanging over his GOAT status—one that’s been following him for years.

Legendary AKA gym head coach Javier Mendez, the man behind champions like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, and Cain Velasquez, has delivered a gut punch to Jones’ legacy. In Mendez’s eyes, Jones’ history of doping strips him of any claim to being the greatest. He didn’t mince words, drawing a brutal comparison: “Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France how many times? And they took everything away because of one thing: doping… Jon Jones has been caught doping. That disqualifies him as the GOAT.”

Let’s not forget, that between 2015 and 2017, Jones was hit with multiple doping violations, even having his win over arch-rival Daniel Cormier wiped from the books. And while ducking Aspinall would be damaging, Mendez argues that Jones’ alleged steroid use is the ultimate stain—one that no amount of title defenses can wash away.

So, the question remains: Does Jones’ history with banned substances overshadow his greatness, or will his achievements in the cage stand the test of time? And what about Rogan’s warning for Aspinall—could ‘Bones’ be facing a future showdown after all? Let us know what you think in the comments below.