Tom Aspinall is unlike anyone we have ever seen. With a record-breaking average fight time of just 2:02 seconds in the UFC, the Englishman does one thing better than anyone ever. Separating people from their consciousness! But the interim heavyweight kingpin, of course, is in negotiations to slug it out with another guy who is also unlike we have ever seen. The undisputed heavyweight champ and GOAT contender, Jon Jones. A clash of the titans, two different generations, different philosophies but with one common goal in mind. Absolute greatness!
This makes predicting their potential title unification clash so difficult. But Michael Bisping, probably Aspinall’s biggest cheerleader, not only believes that the Englishman will beat ‘Bones’, but he will do so in the very first round!
“He hasn’t gone up against somebody like Jon Jones because, as I said, the competition in the heavyweight division isn’t necessarily there on a technical level. Jon Jones is and Jon Jones has fought way better competition than Tom. That’s just a fact. But Jon’s never fought anyone like Tom, either. Jon has never fought anyone the size of Tom and that can generate that kind of power he had,” Bisping told former four-time super-middleweight boxing champion Carl Froch in an interview on the latter’s YouTube channel.
“He had two heavyweight fights, one against Cyril Gane, he took him down really quick and he choked him out. And then he went up against Stipe Miocic. He [Miocic] was really good, and you know, he had a good little go, but he was 42 and he hadn’t fought for a while and he’s getting on. Tom’s 31, in the prime of his life, and I would be very surprised. And this sounds disrespectful. But I’d be very surprised if he got out the first round,” Bisping added gravely.
This left the retired boxer stunned. Jon Jones? The guy who has not lost a fight in nearly two decades? Suffer a first-round stoppage loss? “Really?” a skeptical Froch asked. “Yep,” Bisping confirmed. Indeed, all the advantages Bisping enumerated Aspinall having over the GOAT contender including size, strength, power, and age are exactly why Aspinall has opened as the (slight) favorite for the bookmakers.
Tom Aspinall during UFC Fight Night: London at the O2, London, England on the 22 July 2023. Copyright: xAndyxRowlandx PMI-5650-0018
But there is a big difference between Aspinall being the slight favorite and claiming he will finish Jones in the first five minutes. Yet, this is what Bisping has predicted, and ‘The Count’ is absolutely serious. But what happens remains to be seen when this duo steps inside the Octagon. Everyone and their grandma knows that Dana White has guaranteed that this unification bout will go down sometime in the future.
But before that, predictions from industry experts will keep coming in. Unsurprisingly, the former 185lbs champ’s view is not shared by many of his fellow former champions, who feel the fight would be determined by very different factors. Let’s see!
Alex Pereira and Henry Cejudo make the case for Jon Jones beating Tom Aspinall
While Michael Bisping feels Aspinall’s physical advantages would be too much for Jones, former 2-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo thinks the fight be determined by who is smarter. And on that count, ‘Triple C’ believes, Jones is far better than the interim champ and will pick up the victory easily.
“Heavyweight, I’m going Jon Jones, bro. I watched a little bit of Tom Aspinall yesterday. He’s got lateral movements – really, really good. But Jones is just too smart, bro. Jones just needs to press him, stay in the middle, don’t react, find his wrestling. I think it will be easy money,” Cejudo told co-host Kamaru Usman on their ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast in January.
Alex Pereira, who wanted to fight ‘Bones’ in a veritable super-fight for the heavyweight title before losing his 205lbs belt to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 agrees with this sentiment. Like Cejudo, Pereira felt that ‘Bones’ was just too experienced and too smart for Aspinall to beat.
“I think Jon Jones has a lot of experience on his side. Some people say, ‘Aspinall this, Aspinall that,’ but it comes down to experience. Jon Jones is a seasoned guy. He’s been there, so I think he wins,” Pereira said in an interview with ‘TNT Sports’ last year. What do you think about Michael Bisping’s take on the Jones-Aspinall clash?
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