Jon Jones has finally detailed why he feels he is not 'avoiding' Tom Aspinall, despite insisting they will never fight.
The legendary two-division world champion will take on Stipe Miocic on Saturday night at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. But it seems like most of the questions he's been asked in the build-up to the fight are about Aspinall, who is acting as backup.
And even though the pair appear to be on a collision course with the Briton holding gold among the heavyweights in the interim, Jones has no interest in such a match. Instead, he wants to face light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in what he believes is a historic bout.
Jon Jones explains why he's not 'avoiding' Tom Aspinall
The UFC held a media day this afternoon ahead of Saturday night's event in New York, with Jon Jones facing the press in a lengthy fight. He discussed his fight with Miocic, but the main topic seemed to be his feud (or lack thereof) with Tom Aspinall.
He vehemently denies 'dodging' the Brit, pointing to his stellar record in world title fights to date. He told the media: “I understand that Tom is an exciting fighter, I understand that after sixteen years we have finally found someone who is seven years younger than me and 30 pounds bigger than me.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
“We have finally found someone who can give me a great challenge and everyone wants to see that. For me: what do I gain from it? He won't change anything if I beat him.
“Beating Tom is like beating Ciryl Gane [against whom he won the belt at UFC 285 in March of last year]. He has a whole country behind him, he's hot right now, but what happens to me after I beat him? Nothing changes for me.”
Jon Jones claims he will 'never do business' with Tom Aspinall as hopes of a fight evaporate
Aspinall won his interim title last November by defeating Sergei Pavlovich on short notice when Jones and Stipe were canceled due to injury. Since then he has been striving for unification of the title, which seems to be elusive.
And Jones now appears to have grown tired of his tactics. The stunts he performed included pushing for a confrontation when they met at a show in Britain earlier this year and heading to New York this time.
“If I'm completely honest, I feel like Tom has been such a ****** that I don't want to do business with him,” Jones continued. “His fans are so annoying and obviously you can't get that far in a career where you're influenced by fans or whatever, but he's just an asshole.
“He's 30, so he comes from the influencer generation where you jump online selling t-shirts and stuff. I'm past that kind of thing. I'm like brother, if you had a little more respect then maybe we could discuss something.
“I just don't even want to do business with him – at the end of the day, this is a business. By fighting me, he will have the chance to change his life forever. I don't even want to give him a chance.
“He just played his cards wrong with me personally. I am three years removed from being a grown man of 40 years old. I'd rather not do the press conference, going through the whole thing with him.
Alex Pereira will take a shot at Jon Jones instead if he chooses not to retire after UFC 309
The fight that Jones always seemed to believe made more sense is against light heavyweight and former middleweight champion Alex Pereira. The Brazilian has had a legendary run since November last year. He won his second UFC title before defending it three times in six months.
Jones believes his position as an all-time top contender makes the Brazilian an intriguing prospect. And he's also a fan of his softer approach, having rarely declared the heavyweight champion.
“Pereira on the other side,” Jones continued. “Respectful, cool, hardly says much. I will do business with you – I would risk it all with a human like you. You actually have the accolades to back your *** up.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
“The other guy just has a big mouth and is hot today. There have been so many guys that are hot today, but they're just gone. Sergei [Pavlovich] was in the same position not too long ago and now he's already starting to fall off. I've just been in this sport too long to give a big mouth that's hot today a chance.”
Later in media day, he added: “The main goal is to get past Stipe. If I can do it in a really dominant, devastating way, then the desire in my heart would be okay, now it's Alex Pereira.
“If the UFC doesn't want this to happen because it's ultimately the boss's decision, then it won't happen and I'll just move on with my life.
“One of the ways I look at it is would you rather lose me or have another super fight. The only superfight that makes sense for me, not for everyone else, but for me and my team, is Alex Pereira.”
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