Jon Jones‘ UFC career cannot be summed up with one heavyweight bout, yet the effects he had in that fight, defeating his rival in less than two minutes of the first round and becoming the champion, are beyond any comparison. With the belt on his waist, most people would readily consider him the greatest heavyweight, but is there any other fighter besides Jones who’d fit in that classification of the best heavyweight? Well, ‘Bones’ coach Brandon Gibson believes there is, but surprisingly, it’s not the interim champion Tom Aspinall.

Tom Aspinall has been on a rampage in the UFC, finishing most of his opponents on his way to winning UFC gold. On the other hand, we have former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, who despite leaving the UFC on sour terms, made his mark in the promotion as well. But who’s better? When Jon Jones’s coach shared his views on the next best heavyweight besides the undisputed champion, he appeared a bit hesitant, given both Ngannou and Aspinall are two of the best fighters today. However, Brandon Gibson decided to go for ‘The Predator’. who’s not only made waves in Dana White‘s promotion but shook the boxing world as well.

“That’s tough [choosing between Aspinall and Ngannou]. I haven’t really thought about that like how I would rank those two against each other,” Jon Jones’ coach stated on ‘Submission Radio’. “I think in pure MMA, Francis’s resume is still very strong, and what he went and did in boxing against Fury and Joshua I thought was incredible. Just MMA records and accolades… I would lean towards Francis, you know. The more accolades, the better record, and better legacy so far.”

Jon Jones’ coach deciding to pick Francis Ngannou over Tom Aspinall was nothing short of unexpected because ‘Bones’ and ‘The Predator’ both have been on each other’s necks in the past. The two have traded many fiery insults and even showed a lot of tension when they faced off for a confrontation that sent the entire social media ablaze. Despite this, it looks like both parties have respect for each other when it comes to their performances in the Octagon.

Besides, Jon Jones also doesn’t seem to have been impressed with Tom Aspinall’s body of work in Dana White’s promotion. While speaking to veteran combat sports reporter Kevin Iole, the undisputed champion would claim that the interim champion “just hasn’t proven anything.” But does Tom Aspinall care about legacy? Apparently, the British star does not.

Despite Jon Jones downplaying Tom Aspinall, the interim champ doesn’t care about legacy

After Jon Jones claimed that Tom Aspinall didn’t prove anything to him, the British star shared a cheeky response by sharing an Instagram post with a video montage of his knockout wins in the UFC. Furthermore, a few days before those comments came to the fore, Aspinall had already mentioned that he was not in the running to create some kind of legacy in MMA.

Claiming that his focus is for fans to accept and acknowledge him as the best heavyweight MMA fighter today, Tom Aspinall stated, “I’m not bothered about legacy, I just feel like I’m the best heavyweight in the world and I want people to recognize it. That’s it! I don’t want to be the greatest heavyweight ever or anything like that,” in a recent interview.

So, there you go. Aspinall wants to be acknowledged as the baddest man around, as long as he is around. He said the same in one of his callouts to Jon Jones after UFC 304 – “Hello Jon, I have nothing against you personally but I just think I’m better than you. I just know I can beat you in a fight. So I’m coming for it.” – And the ‘Bones’ camp has been downplaying his achievements all this while. Could the preference for Ngannou be another veiled jibe at the interim champion?

What are your thoughts on Jon Jones’ coach snubbing Tom Aspinall from the G.O.A.T. conversation? Let us know in the comments down below.