Tom Aspinall hasn’t been in the third round in any of his UFC fights so far. With the shortest average fight time of any fighter in the UFC ever, and all his wins coming via quick finishes, it is no surprise that the interim heavyweight champ is expected to be an all-time great. But this short fight time is also why Jon Jones‘ coach Brandon Gibson feels that ‘Bones’ has a good chance of beating Aspinall.

Speaking to ‘Inside Fighting’ in a recent interview, the coach revealed why he thinks Aspinall’s record-breaking average fight time may actually be an advantage for Jones. “Aspinall is a great interim champ, he’s had a great heavyweight career so far. I think there’s still a lot of unknowns which, you know, could be a benefit to Tom. But also a lot of those unknowns could be a big benefit to us. Like how is he going to do in deep water, how is he going to do in later rounds? There’ll probably be a lot of pressure on him to try to start fast,” he said.

In addition, the coach predicted that Jones, with his emphatic fight IQ, dynamism, and all his physical gifts is going to be enough to deal with young and hungry Aspinall. Moreover, this isn’t the first time that fight fans have talked of a new and dynamic guy who will be Jones’ undoing. Fighters like Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustafson, and Dominick Reyes have all risen and been put down by Jones in the past.

“So with all that said Tom’s not a matchup, like, you know, we have respect for all of these great opponents and great champions. But I think Jon has solved a lot more complex problems and I think just Jon’s mixed martial arts game, his IQ, his pace, his strength would all land in our favor, and John [will be] victorious once again,” Gibson added in the interview.

Of course, Jon Jones has said that he wants to fight Alex Pereira next. The UFC, however, has been clear that the only man ‘Bones’ will fight next is Aspinall. But Jones, being the smart guy he is has demanded “f–k you money” or he will retire. While the two parties are still negotiating at the moment, a Jones-Aspinall clash is perhaps the best fight the sport has to offer at the moment.

Why fans are salivating at the prospect of a Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall clash

Tom Aspinall is younger, faster, and much hungrier than the heavyweight version of Jones. Not to mention the interim champ is a natural heavyweight and thus has a natural size advantage over the ‘undisputed’ king. The Englishman’s remarkably well-rounded game, with his lethal striking and suffocating ground game, is also expected to be quite a challenge for ‘Bones’.

Perhaps this is why Aspinall has opened as the slight betting favorite over Jones. However, we are talking about Jon Jones, and there is a reason he is considered the greatest of all time. What makes the GOAT contender so good is his intelligence complicated with a long, lanky frame. In addition to this, his remarkably dynamic striking full of elbows, knees, and spinning kicks would be a nightmare for anyone to deal with.

However, it is his fight IQ, and proclivity to obsessively watch tapes and get to know every small part of his opponent’s game that makes him so good. But in the case of Aspinall, there isn’t much tape to watch. After all, most of his fights have ended in the first round, with none of his opponents so far presenting much of a challenge.

But Jones has forgotten more about the game of MMA than most fighters will ever learn. That is why if anyone can beat Aspinall, many think it will be Jones. What do you think about Jon Jones’ coach’s thoughts on an Aspinall fight? And who will prevail if the duo ever meets in what is being dubbed as a generational clash? Tell us in the comment section below!