UFC’s Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones Playing It ‘Smart’ by Fighting Stipe Miocic over Tom Aspinall

Jones' longtime rival understands where the heavyweight champ is coming from.

Jul 6, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Jon Jones (red gloves) before his fight against Thiago Santos (not / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Daniel Cormier sees reason behind Jon Jones' next move.

The current UFC Heavyweight Champion has been heavily criticized for the direction his career is headed in, as Jones wants to fight Stipe Miocic in his return to the Octagon. The title fight itself wasn't controversial when it was booked last November for UFC 295, but that all changed when Tom Aspinall was added to the mix.

Suffering an injury in his training camp, Jones was forced to withdraw from his fight with Miocic and an interim title was made on the spot with Aspinall claiming gold after TKO'ing Sergei Pavlovich in the very first round.

Sorry Tom Aspinall! ‘UFC to Do Everything to Preserve’ Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

Jones, who has an even bigger target on his back now, is still adamant about fighting Miocic and has shot down the idea of a title unification bout with Aspinall on multiple occasions. The reigning champion has riled up many fans, demanding that he defend against the highly-touted Aspinall rather than a fellow legend in Miocic.

Despite being heated rivals for many years, Cormier isn't one to criticize Jones for who he wants to fight next– especially when "Bones" is so close to finishing out his UFC legacy.

"That's BS," Cormier told MMA Junkie Radio, regarding the notion that Jones should fight Aspinall next instead of Miocic. "[If] he loses to Aspinall, people will start to question if he's that guy because that's how it works. That's how it works. For so long, there was never a question that Anderson Silva was always gonna be considered the the greatest of all time. Dude starts getting beat towards at the end of his career— had he not started losing those fights, he was still sat right by Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre, if not above them [in the 'greatest of all time' conversation]. It's how it is.

"It would be great [if Jones fought Aspinall]. I would love it. I understand. But, this dude right now is probably at a point in his career where he's like, 'make the most money, take the least amount of risk'. That would seem to me like he's trying to do it smart," Cormier said of Jones. "Because I know that Tom Aspinall is a problem, man. He's the real deal. He's big. He's physical. He's strong. He can wrestle. He can do everything that would seem to present problems to a guy going up in a weight class to try to beat him."

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Interim belt or not, England's Aspinall has definitely proved his worth as the rightful #1 contender in the heavyweight division. While Aspinall may deserve a title shot, Jones explains his logic for wanting to fight Miocic and why he's probably not going back on his word.

"I’m in the middle of a pretty clear decision, stick to exact and original plans, and fight the man with all the accolades. Or, completely disregard all of the Stipe training I’ve put in and fight another potential hype train that may not even be around in three years," Jones wrote of Aspinall on 'X'. "I am not changing my plans for anyone. Stipe is over there as the best heavyweight ever working his ass off. I’m gonna give that man what he wants, and I’m going to claim another head. Whatever comes next comes next."

I’m in the middle of a pretty clear decision… stick to exact and original plans, and fight the man with all the accolades. Or, completely disregard all of the Stipe training I’ve put in and fight another potential hype train that may not even be around in three years.
I am not…

— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 9, 2024

The 41 year-old Miocic has not fought anyone since he ran into Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021 and lost his heavyweight title via knockout. It's not the high note he'd want going into a legacy fight with Jones, but the setback to Ngannou doesn't wipe away the fact he's one of the the greatest heavyweight fighters to ever step into the UFC Octagon.

Cormier, who has fought both Jones and Miocic more than once, rates the former champion's chances against Jones at this stage of his career.

"I fought at 41, and I knew how different I was from 39 to 41," Cormier said. "Stipe hasn't fought in 4 years. I don't know how you get back in that Octagon and fight as effectively as you need to be. We don't know because Ciryl Gane didn't test [Jones] as much as we thought he would. Is Jon Jones that same guy? We don't know that. We don't know if Jon Jones is the guy that he was back when he was beating all those great fighters. I mean, I don't know. We really did get a sample size of who Jon Jones is as a heavyweight. Can you make a judgment based on that? I don't know."

Love it or hate it, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic seems to be on the agenda for the next UFC Heavyweight title fight.

UFC: Stipe Miocic's New Timeframe for Jon Jones Fight: ‘Damn Right, I’m Gonna Wait'

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