Retirement is on the table for Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic after their fight for the UFC Heavyweight Championship UFC 309. One name might inspire Jones to keep fighting, but it's not interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, but Alex Pereira.
Jones and Miocic headline New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday. It's a meeting between the most dominant light heavyweight and heavyweight champions, albeit several years later than fans would have liked. Aspinall's presence is a significant subplot of UFC 309.
Last November, Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim UFC heavyweight title after Jones withdrew from his scheduled fight with Miocic. Instead of being rewarded with the normally expected title unification, Aspinall defended his interim title against Curtis Blaydes while UFC came out on top with Jones against Miocic. The situation has left Aspinall in limbo. None of the UFC 309 headliners have expressed much interest in fighting Aspinall, a stance Jones maintains nine days after UFC 309.
“Most likely not.” Jones told martial arts journalist Kevin Iole about a possible Aspinall fight. “I feel like Tom Aspinall is – I don’t want to say a nobody – but he hasn’t proven or done anything.”
Jones belittled Aspinall's interim title win over Pavlovich, saying Pavlovich was subsequently “butchered by someone else.” Jones was referring to Pavlovich's unanimous decision loss to Alexander Volkov in June. Jones, who won the vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in March 2023 after a historic light heavyweight title reign, is not interested in his legacy being used.
“I’m not here to bet on someone else making a name out of me,” Jones said. “I'm here to fight the guys who, in 10 years, you'll look back and say, 'Jon Jones fought this guy and that guy, this legend and this champion.'”
Jones argued that the only compelling fight for him after UFC 309 would be against UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Jones suggested a heavyweight superfight between the two champions.
“If there was a fight for me with anyone on the UFC roster that would be financially and legacy-wise worthwhile, it would be Alex Pereira,” Jones said. “We are both 37 years old. Right now I weigh about 235 pounds. I'm an incredible light heavyweight. I think Pereira weighs 240 pounds.”
“I think this fight would add a lot more to my legacy than a young man who is cool today and might not be around tomorrow. I remember when the whole world thought Johnny Walker was the guy who would beat me. No disrespect to Johnny Walker, but we did it. “I’ve seen his career develop. I've been here way too long to get excited about someone hot.