ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had a lot to say about Jon Jones’ retirement.
When Tom Aspinall witnessed Jones pick Stipe Miocic apart during the UFC 309 main event in New York City, many were hoping that a title unification bout would be next. At the time, Aspinall was the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion, while “Bones” held the main gold.
Instead, Jones showed more interest in a clash with Alex Pereira. “Poatan” ended up losing the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to Magomed Ankalaev, which brought the focus back to Jones vs. Aspinall. It wasn’t meant to be, as Jones informed the UFC brass of his decision to retire.
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Stephen A. Wanted Jones vs. Aspinall
During an episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith discussed fight fans missing out on seeing Jon Jones share the Octagon with Tom Aspinall (via MMAFighting).
“What do we complain about with boxing?” Smith said. “We complain about promoters and others getting in the way of getting us the fights that we want to see when we want to see it. Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is literally this kind of person. If you get on his nerves, one of two things will happen: He’ll want to kick your ass, which he’s fully capable of doing and does at an elite level, or he’ll say, ‘The hell with you. I’m not going to give you the privilege of fighting me,’ because that fighter annoys him as opposed to looking at the audience out here spanning millions and millions of people, who recognize your greatness and want to see you against this guy who’s been calling you out for the longest time.
“Handle it. Handle it, then retire if you want to, but don’t retire because guess what, there’s not really a fight out there that you’re interested in. This guy irritates you so the hell with it, I’m not going to give him the privilege to fight me. It ain’t about that. That audience out there who loves you, who recognizes your unquestionable greatness, we want to see you handle this guy.”
Aspinall is now the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion. While his next fight hasn’t been determined, UFC CEO Dana White said he plans to meet with Aspinall during “International Fight Week” to figure things out.
As for Jones, some believe that “Bones” would be more inclined to end his retirement if Aspinall loses his next outing. Whether or not that scenario ends up happening remains to be seen.
