Everyone and their dog know Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight Tom Aspinall. Aspinall, of course, is the interim champion of the division ‘Bones’ is the ‘undisputed’ champion of. But the consensus MMA GOAT, as is well known, is outraged at the idea that the interim champ would dare want to scrap it out with him. After all, why would the Englishman want to unify the title, as is, always has been, and always will be the tradition in combat sports?

But why is Jones so opposed to fighting Aspinall? Well, the champ reiterated it once again in a recent interview. “If he [Aspinall] can earn some things in the UFC [I may fight him] because I think right now the only champion he’s ever fought against or beat was Andrei Arlovski, who was way past his prime. He won an intern championship against Sergei [Pavlovich] and Sergei just got murdered in his last fight,” Jones told ESPN MMA.

Jones just doesn’t think Aspinall has done anything (so far at least) to deserve a fight with him. To the point that he doesn’t even consider Aspinall a ‘real’ champion. “So it’s like you’re beating guys who aren’t even champions, and you consider yourself a champion. He’s not a champion. And if I were to maybe entertain fighting again, I would say the person that’s most deserving of it would be Alex Pereira,” he added.

To be fair, Aspinall isn’t the real champion, he is the interim one. But we must remember that Jones’s reign is “disputed” at the moment owing to his inactivity and the obvious presence of an interim championship in the division. After all, there are two champions in a division, which cannot be the case. There can only be one! If only there was a way to determine who the real champion is, that would happen in front of the world and would answer the question definitively one way or the other.

On the other hand, Jones is very enthusiastic about a potential fight with the 205lbs king Alex Pereira. And for good reasons!

Why does Jon Jones want to fight Alex Pereira over Tom Aspinall?

Alex Pereira is the biggest superstar in the entire sport at the moment. A win over ‘Poatan’ would indeed be big for Jones’s already undeniable legacy and give him another all-timer on his resume. In addition, many feel a Pereira fight would be easier for the heavyweight champ.

After all, the Brazilian has virtually no ground game, giving Jones the overall advantage. To be fair a Jones-Pereira fight would be much much bigger than Jones-Aspinall. For all his heroics in the octagon and the generational talent that he possesses, the Englishman is not a megastar yet, not even in his homeland.

But this is not boxing. Fighters are not supposed to choose their opponents here, they are supposed to fight whoever is next. This is the UFC, where according to Dana White, the best fight the best. On both counts, Aspinall should be next for Jones. But ‘Bones’ seems to think he doesn’t need to follow the rules because of everything he has done. This rubs almost everyone the wrong way and maybe the worst thing Jones can do for his legacy, which he is so worried about. What do you think about Jon Jones insulting Tom Aspinall yet again?