Daniel Cormier: Tom Aspinall could change the UFC’s Jones/Miocic plans
In a recent segment on his YouTube channel, Cormier weighed in on the state of the heavyweight division and how Aspinall can change it.
“Could you imagine if Tom Aspinall just washes out Curtis Blaydes? Then the firestorm that would start to gather for him to fight [Jon] Jones?” Cormier said. “For there to truly be an uprising, it would have to be Aspinall destroying Blaydes. Only because of this: you’ve seen Curtis Blaydes lose before, so people would think ‘Oh he beat Tom Aspinall, but we’ve seen him get beat by Francis [Ngannou] and lose to other guys…
“But if Aspinall goes through Blaydes, in the way that he did Sergei [Pavlovich], and he’s only lost because of that injury default, people would lose their minds. Almost insisting that he and Jones fight…if Tom Aspinall can get through this fight, and he’s clean and looks dominant, there may be such a fan uprising that the UFC may have to be forced to make Jones vs. Aspinall. I don’t know what that would mean for my man Stipe [Miocic]. But it sounds like if it does happen, he’s okay with it.”
Miocic, in a recent interview with CBS Sports‘s Shakiel Mahjouri, empathized with Aspinall’s frustration regarding the Jones fight. He also seemed content in walking away if the UFC decided to move on from the Jones fight.
Jones captured the then-vacant UFC heavyweight title by defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last year. Since that victory, Aspinall has won back-to-back fights over Marcin Tybura and Pavlovich.
The UFC heavyweight title picture continues to be one of the hottest MMA talking points of 2024. If Cormier’s remarks are any indication, the Jones vs. Miocic fight might not be set in stone until Aspinall has something to say about it.
