Dana White is clear- he wants the winner of the Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic title clash at UFC 309 to fight interim champion Tom Aspinall. But it is well-established at this point that Jones does not like that idea. However, at the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference, the UFC CEO was absolutely clear.

“The winner [of Jones-Miocic] should absolutely fight Tom [Aspinall],” White said to thunderous cheers from the crowd, many of whom even stood up and started chanting Aspinall’s name. But Jones remained unmoved, telling fans to “knock it off” with a smile. And Jones, on being asked what he thought of the head honcho’s take, simply said that he was “focused on Saturday. Saturday is just a few days away and that’s the biggest thing for me right now.” 

On being pressed further, the consensus MMA GOAT clarified that he had already clarified his stance about a possible Aspinall fight in an interview the day before. The ‘undisputed’ champ, of course, had claimed that he was not willing to do any business with ‘big mouth’ Aspinall. This was surprising to many since Aspinall has been more than respectful. To the point that the likes of MMA analyst Luke Thomas and former champion Daniel Cormier have advised the interim champ to make more noise and appeal to Jones’s ego.

To be fair, it seems ‘Bones’ is more irritated with Aspinall fans pestering him, but that is to be expected from the fight fans. However, there is also another, perhaps more credible theory about why Jones doesn’t want to fight Aspinall.

Why do most think Jon Jones is ducking Tom Aspinall?

Most fans and analysts feel that Jon Jones is ducking Tom Aspinall. Why? Well, because according to Daniel Cormier, the risk of fighting Aspinall is too much for Jones. After all, Jones is all but done with fighting, and is set to retire undefeated (except for a freak DQ loss more than a decade ago), and is already many people’s pick for the greatest of all time.

Aspinall is clearly a generational talent, not to mention is younger, hungrier, and naturally bigger than ‘Bones’, and has all the tools to be able to defeat Jones in a fight. This is why many feel the former light heavyweight champ doesn’t want to put his (de facto) undefeated streak on the line and harm his legacy.

On the other hand, even if Jones defeats the Englishman, many, such as ‘DC’ feel, it will not do much good for ‘Bones’s legacy. Aspinall may go on to become an all-time great or even the greatest heavyweight of all time, but right now, he wouldn’t do very much to boost Jones’s legacy.

In short, Jon Jones is probably “ducking” Tom Aspinall because he fears he may lose to the Englishman. What do you think about Jon Jones’s reaction to a possible Tom Aspinall fight at the UFC 309 press conference? Tell us in the comment section below!