Jones Will ‘Tarnish’ Legacy By Avoiding Aspinall Fight

Many people would like to see Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall fight for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title on principal alone, but former UFC champion Michael Bisping believes “Bones” needs the fight to secure his MMA legacy.

That may seem like a stretch, but there’s no reason why Jones and Aspinall shouldn’t be fighting next. Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion, while Aspinall holds the interim strap. The promotion is still trying to hold out for a Jones vs. Stipe Miocic matchup later this year, but that seems more nostalgic than anything at this point.

Bisping, who has been around long enough to see Jones rise through the UFC rankings to become one of the best fighters ever, acknowledges that there’s not much left for Jones to prove. However, Aspinall is such a unique heavyweight and has looked so dominant since his UFC arrival back in 2020 that it would be a travesty if he and “Bones” never locked horns.

“He doesn’t have anything to prove, other than he can beat Tom Aspinall,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “If he does retire right now, that is always going to be the narrative. There’s people out there – and I know this annoys Jones, so I’m sorry to bring it up – people say that he avoided Francis Ngannou. I’m not saying that, but that’s a narrative that exists. I don’t think that’s true, but people do say that.

“If he doesn’t fight Tom Aspinall, if he beats Stipe, that will forever be the narrative. That will forever be the narrative – that he’s ducking Tom Aspinall, that he’s afraid of Tom Aspinall, that he looks at Tom Aspinall – this gigantic man, a true heavyweight that moves like a middleweight, that has ridiculous finishing ability, a heavyweight Georges St-Pierre, a mixed martial arts version of Muhammad Ali, (and is scared).”

If Jones does in fact return just to take out Miocic and walk off into the sunset he’ll still be considered one of the best fighters ever. But if he’s able to come back, truly cement his footing in the heavyweight division, and defeat Aspinall in a unification bout it will fortify his legacy forever (according to Bisping).

“How on earth can Jon Jones retire when there’s another active, defending heavyweight champion?” asked Bisping. “You just can’t do that. That is madness, and it will affect his legacy and tarnish his accomplishments forever.”

Thoughts? Does Jones need to fight Apsinall or will it have zero impact on his overall legacy?

Sound off!