“By not stepping into that Octagon, he quit. He didn’t want to fight Tom Aspinall,” Daniel Cormier recently said about Jon Jones’ retirement. The former rival went so far as to claim that avoiding the Aspinall fight may have seriously tarnished Jones’ legacy. And he’s not alone; many in the UFC community have criticized the ex-heavyweight champ for missing what could’ve been a legacy-defining bout. But does declining one fight erase 12 successful title defenses? Aljamain Sterling doesn’t think so. The former bantamweight champ has publicly defended ‘Bones,’ and true to form—Jones acknowledged the support.
In a Q&A on his YouTube channel, Aljamain Sterling was by a fan whether Jon Jones‘ legacy had been tarnished by ducking Tom Aspinall. Well, Sterling believes that saying Jones destroyed his legacy by not fighting Aspinall is just an overreach, “I don’t think Jon’s retiring is a stain on his legacy either. I know some people are trying to paint that narrative, but how? How can a guy who’s defended his championship title more than 10 times have a stain on his legacy because he decided not to fight one more time?
Sterling argues, what if Jones had been hit by a car or knocked out on a wood and couldn’t compete for the rest of his life while negotiations were still ongoing? Would people still point fingers at his legacy? No, things would have been drastically different if Jones had retired with an injury. “I understand Jon’s logic. He doesn’t need Aspinall. But a fight with Francis or someone like that who’s established—I get it,” said Sterling.
He further added, “Now, as a selfish fan—the selfish fan in me—I would love to watch Jon Jones fight Tom Aspinall. Of course, I want to see Jon Jones fight Tom Aspinall. It’s a crazy fight. It’s a crazy fight.” Well, Aljamain Sterling shared his Jon Jones hypothesis on his Instagram handle, and ‘Bones’ loved the analogy as he took to the comment section to write, “My Guy.”
When Jon Jones held the heavyweight title, the MMA community wanted the UFC to strip him of the belt. Many even advised him to retire and hand the title over to Tom Aspinall. But now that he has done exactly that, the community still holds sour opinions about his career.
Jon Jones had a huge impact on the sports, but the fans can’t be blamed for wanting to see the most logical fight in the promotion—a time honored tradition of the undisputed champion unifying the titles. But it’s not just the fans that were mad at him—his retirement also left a certain sports celebrity upset as well.
Stephen A. Smith expresses utter disappointment in Jon Jones’ early retirement
At UFC Baku, UFC CEO Dana White finally announced the departure of Jon Jones from the promotion. The news shocked the entire MMA community, as no one expected ‘Bones’ to leave in such a manner. Many expressed their disappointment, including sports personality Stephen A. Smith. Speaking on his ESPN First Take, Smith argues that the Aspinall fight would have been one of the biggest fights of Jones’ career, but he missed the chance.
“I’m not going to accuse the greatest mixed martial artist I’ve ever seen in my life in Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. I have that much admiration for him… Having said that, I’m incredibly, incredibly disappointed with this news, Smith said of Jones’ retirement decision. [Jones] is absolutely phenomenal. He’s the real deal. He’s one of those dudes that a guy like Aspinall, he’s been on the record saying, ‘He just irritates me and annoys me’,” said Smith
He further added, “He doesn’t even want to be asked about Tom Aspinall during interviews. Well, now with your retirement, Aspinall is the undisputed heavyweight champion. My point is, if you are a fighter, which he is at a very elite level, and that’s the fight that people want to see, give us the fight that we wanna see.”
Well, the UFC CEO, Dana White, did try his ultimate best to make that fight, but the fight gods didn’t oblige. With Jones retiring from the sport, the heavyweight division will be active once again, but will it have the star power? Time will tell.
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