If we closely look at the career of Jon Jones there’s no doubt that he is indeed the Greatest Of All Time. However, the 37-year-old is under a lot of pressure after failing to give Tom Aspinall his much-deserved title shot. Since capturing the Interim belt, ‘Honey Badger’ had only one goal in his mind: a fight with the reigning champion of the division. But looking at the way ‘Bones’ has been dealing with the situation fans and experts have started coming up with their own narrative.
Now former UFC fighter Dan Hardy has also come up with his own take on the whole matter. As we all know, Jones initially demanded ‘f..k you money’ (around $3o million) to get inside the Octagon with the hard-hitting Brit. However, he has now demanded a time period of six months to give himself the best opportunity to win his fight against Aspinall. After listening to all the recent claims, the former UFC fighter pointed out how he did exactly the same before his fight with Francis Ngannou. Jones reportedly could have made around $5o million if he stepped inside the Octagon with the former champion. But Hardy feels it was the power of Ngannou that might have shattered their confidence in ‘Bones.’
The former UFC fighter now feels it’s the same scenario before his fight with the ‘Honey Badger’ as well. While speaking on the ‘talkSport MMA’ show, the former fighter didn’t hesitate to share his honest opinion on the situation. He said, ” Now Jon Jones moving into heavyweight at this point in his career. Like he’s still 30 pounds off Tom Aspinall, you know. And I think Tom beats Jon Jones at this stage. But the thing, honestly, that undermines Jon in my mind, more than anything else, is his seeming lack of confidence to fight these guys. Like that honestly is the biggest thing. If I dig into it deep, it’s his lack of confidence it seems. He’s seeming lack of confidence to fight Tom Aspinall.”
Amidst all the chaos, Tom Aspinall made it clear that he was slowly losing his interest in the fight. Well, the interim champion does have a point. ‘Honey Badger’ has now held the interim title for over 500 days with no announcement of his next fight. During one of his interviews, he said, “I’m done talking about it, mate. Honestly, I’m over it. We’ll see what happens, yeah? We’ll just see.” It seems the Englishman has once again found a way to ignite the rivalry when he attended UFC London at the O2 Arena last week and caught the attention of Chael Sonnen.
Chael Sonnen thinks Tom Aspinall’s latest gesture is nothing but ‘great stuff’
During the broadcast of the UFC’s latest event, Tom Aspinall avoided calling out Jon Jones by name. But when the camera landed on him, he made sure he took the opportunity to share a message for the champion. Aspinall pulled out a rubber duck in a subtle gesture of pointing to how ‘Bones’ has been “ducking” him. The gesture immediately set off a buzz in the MMA world and caught the attention of many. Some saw it as disrespectful, while others thought it was a lighthearted and wholesome moment. Among those who appreciated the move was UFC fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen, who recently shared his take on it in an Instagram reel.
‘The American Gangster’ during one of his videos said, “Tom showed up at a UFC event and pulled out a rubber duck, symbolizing Jon Jones ducking him. This guy is rich and famous—he could have splurged on a high-end duck, but instead, he pulls out one like you’d get in a Happy Meal, probably worth around 15 cents. He’s sitting in a $5,000 seat but chose a 15-cent duck. That was great stuff!” There’s no doubt the challenger is trying his best to get under the skin of the champion. However, it’s ‘Bones’ who is still holding the upper hand in calling the fight.
Do you think the fight between the two will ever happen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Jon Jones’ “Lack of Confidence” to Fight Tom Aspinall or Francis Ngannou Despite $50M Offer Gets Exposed appeared first on EssentiallySports.