Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou can relate to the narrative of Jones being afraid to fight Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). When he opted to sign with PFL, Ngannou was accused of running away from Jones by UFC CEO Dana White. Ngannou agrees with Jones’ assessment on an Aspinall fight not doing too much for his legacy.
“I think there’s a negotiation situation here that’s involved that we don’t know all the ups and downs,” Ngannou told TMZ Sports. “We all know the situation that they use in the negotiation to say, ‘Oh no, he doesn’t want to fight this guy – he’s scared.’ And then that’s how the machine works.
“He’s in the position to claim what he wants, as he said. He said, ‘Aspinall needs that fight. I don’t need it.’ And when you look at it, it’s pretty much true. There’s nothing that he’s going to have more in that fight other than money. But for Aspinall, who’s someone coming and trying to cement his way in the division, that will be everything.”
PFL heavyweight superfights champion Ngannou stakes claim as the world’s No. 1 heavyweight and would love to settle that debate against Jones.
“The reality is, we both know we both want this fight, for sure,” Ngannou said. “And it would be a good fight for us. There’s more to this, like legacy and everything. I mean, I can finish my career at some point, but it will always be great to know that, OK, you faced that guy – that guy who is the best in the sport, to ever do the sport.”
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones provided a positive update about his fighting future.
UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] provided a positive update about his fighting future.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) is fresh off his first title defense against Stipe Miocic less than two weeks ago in the UFC 309 headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York.
After finishing Miocic, Jones doubled down on his callout of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, and said he’s willing to walk away if he doesn’t get his wish.
However, Jones revealed that negotiations with the UFC are currently undergoing.
“Right now, the UFC and I, we’re in negotiations,” Jones told The Schmo. “We’re in talks to see what happens next. I’m back in the gym. I’m training. I feel really great. The team supports me and they’re behind me. We’ll just be ready for whatever opportunity comes our way.”
Jones asked the UFC for “f*ck you” money to fight interim champion Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). When asked how much that is, Jones didn’t reveal, but hinted that an octagon return is probable.
“There is (a figure in mind), but I’m not going to discuss that publicly,” Jones continued. “Yes, I will be competing in 2025, more than likely.”
Aspinall also recently said that negotiations for his next fight are underway. Aspinall has been eager to unify his interim title with Jones, even defending his belt in a first-round TKO of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July.
During the UFC 309 post-fight news conference, Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) made a bold prediction about Steveson should he decide to pursue MMA.
“He’s going to be scary. He’s going to be very scary when he decides to do MMA,” Jones said. “He knows how to make men appear very weak – me being one of them. When he learns how to box and learns a little about jiu-jitsu, it’s not a matter of if he’ll become a UFC champion, it’s when he’ll be a UFC champion.”
After winning an Olympic gold medal in wrestling in 2020, Steveson saw careers with both the WWE and NFL cut short. But after spending some time with Jones in Albuquerque, N.M., Steveson could see himself finding success in MMA.
“After being in that camp with Jon Jones, that definitely put a major spark in me to go out there and do MMA,” Steveson said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Not sure the promotion yet, but Jon definitely lit a fire under me, and was like, ‘Hey, I think you should go back to wrestling. I think you should try MMA. We have a great team out here in Albuquerque if you want to join us.’
“It was just fascinating how I got into something so quick. When I put on the gloves, everything felt like home base. With the wrestling, with the boxing, with the jiu-jitsu, I feel like I’d be very good really quick.”
No bias, but Jon Jones is not Tom Aspinall’s GOAT.
No bias, but [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is not [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]’s GOAT.
In an interview with Jon Bernard Kairouz, Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) explained why former UFC light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight champion Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) cannot be considered the greatest of all time in his opinion.
He picked Georges St-Pierre as No. 1 for one simple reason.
“GSP,” Aspinall answered on who the GOAT is. “He’s never failed for PEDs.”
Prior to his scheduled rematch against Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, Jones received a one-year suspension after he tested positive for hydroxy-clomiphene, “an anti-estrogenic agent” and “letrozole metabolite,” an “aromatase inhibitor.”
A failed drug test arose in Jones’ career a third time when, prior to his UFC 232 rematch with Alexander Gustafsson, he tested positive for the same turinabol metabolites. However, USADA determined they were trace amounts in the form of picograms incapable of giving Jones a competitive advantage.
So where does Jones rank in Aspinall’s standings?
“Second,” Aspinall said. “I think it’d be silly to say that he wasn’t one of the best ever.”
Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall revealed that negotiations for a Jones fight are currently underway. Jones is fresh off a heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic this past Saturday in the UFC 309 headliner.
“Yeah, we’re in negotiations right now, is the honest answer,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “We don’t know when the fight is going to be, but I’ll be ready to go whenever. I’m back in the gym now. I’m back in the gym training, as always.
“I’ll be ready to fight when they let me know. Until then, I’ll be improving, I’ll be getting better, so no great rush on that. Obviously, I want to fight as soon as possible. But right now, we’re just waiting for a date. That’s it.”
Joe Rogan highlights one major difference in the way Jon Jones and Conor McGregor have navigated their careers.
[autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag] highlighted one major difference in the way [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] have navigated their careers.
Both Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) and McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) have risen to undeniable heights in their UFC careers, but have also found themselves in various legal woes.
Despite all the controversy surrounding his career, Jones has remained on top by reigning over the UFC’s light heavyweight division for years, then moving up to heavyweight to claim the belt. He successfully defended his heavyweight title this past Saturday with a Round 3 TKO of Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 headliner.
Meanwhile, McGregor hasn’t been able to maintain his success in the cage. A former UFC dual-champion, McGregor is coming off back-to-back stoppage losses to Dustin Poirier, and hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in his rematch with “The Diamond” in July 2021.
“Jon’s in a different category,” Rogan said on his “Joe Rogan Experience.” “Conor self-destructed in a lot of ways because of money. He took that fight with Floyd Mayweather, made a ton of money off that, and then took a long time before he came back to MMA, and he’s just not been the same guy since.
“And I think that’s just – it’s money, it’s a lot of partying, but it’s the same kind of thing. It’s just a wild (change). But when Conor was in his prime, he was a f*cking assassin.”
Rogan went on to rave about Jones’ accolades. Minus a disqualification blemish to Matt Hamill early in his career, “Bones” never has tasted defeat, and has taken out generations of talent.
“Jon is a special dude,” Rogan said. “When he’s gone, we’re all going to miss him. He’s a different kind of guy. I mean, he’s been at the top for 14 f*cking years. He was the youngest guy to ever win a UFC title, 23. … But when Jon Jones won that title at 23, it’s just been destruction of everyone ever since. Never ducked anybody, fought all the best, destroyed everybody, and dominated his division, (then) went up to heavyweight, dominates at heavyweight.”
Michael Bisping is not a fan of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ mentality.
[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] is not a fan of UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ mentality.
Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) retained his heavyweight title with a Round 3 TKO of Stipe Miocic in Saturday’s UFC 309 main event. He continued to dismiss interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall and said he’d only continue fighting if he was matched up with light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira.
Jones did later say that he’d need “f*ck you” money to fight Aspinall, but Bisping has an issue with “Bones” going after an easier stylistic matchup. He compared his approach to [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag], who’s coming off a unanimous decision win over 58-year-old Mike Tyson this past Friday in their Netflix headliner.
“My only issue is as a man, as a fighter, is him saying he doesn’t have this obligation to fight these young up-and-coming, hungry, dangerous guys that have an ability to beat him,” Bisping said on his “Believe You Me” podcast. “I don’t get that. That’s what my problem is with Jake Paul.
“Fighting guys that (Jones) knows he can beat – Alex Pereira, he has a very blatantly obvious path to victory. He just took down Stipe. He took down Ciryl Gane. He will take down Alex Pereira. Would he be able to take down Tom? That’s the question. That’s the fight. That’s what we want to see.”
Bisping liked what he saw out of Jones in his performance against Miocic, where he was able to land a big takedown in Round 1 and some brutal ground and pound. Jones then showed off the diversity in his striking by finishing Miocic with a spinning back kick to the body.
“The version of Jon Jones that we saw Saturday night – I’ve always said I think Tom would beat Jon,” Bisping said. “But when I was watching this Saturday night, I was like, ‘Jon looks big. Jon looks fast. Jon looks like he’s got the ability to go five rounds if he wants to or he needs to.’ I believe Jon would give him some problems. I believe that is a real fight that the world wants to see.”
Jon Jones is back on top of the MMA Junkie pound-for-pound rankings. Is his No. 1 spot justified? The MMA Junkie crew debates live.
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] successfully defended his heavyweight title in the UFC 309 main event, and now, the debate about his placement in the pound-for-pound rankings rages on.
Was the performance worthy of landing ahead of stellar talents such as Alex Pereria, Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev and Francis Ngannou?
In a special live debate, MMA Junkie’s Simon Samano, Matthew Wells, Mike Bohn, “Gorgeous” George Garcia, and Brian “Goze” Garcia will get together to debate Jones’ landing spot in the P4P rankings.
Watch this special live stream in the video above and submit your questions in the YouTube live chat.
From one week to three months, check out the full list of medical suspensions handed out following UFC 309 in New York.
Every fighter who competed this past Saturday at UFC 309 has been given a medical suspension following their bouts.
Jhonata Diniz, Mickey Gall and Bassil Hafez were knocked out in their fights and were among four fighters who received 90-day suspensions, which was the longest period issued. The fourth fighter who received 90 days was James Llontop, who went the distance with Mauricio Ruffy, but was on the receiving end of multiple damaging strikes over three rounds.
The event, which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, was headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic. Although he announced his retirement following the main event, Miocic was given a 60-day suspension for his TKO loss to Jones.
Wednesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of medical suspensions from the New York State Department of State, which oversaw the event. Check out the full list below. The suspensions ranged from a 7-day mandatory rest period to 90 days. Any fighter given 30-90 days may return sooner if cleared by a doctor (unless noted otherwise).
Eduarda Moura def. Veronica Hardy
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Veronica Hardy (red gloves) fights Eduarda Moura (blue gloves) in the flyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Eduarda Moura[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Oban Elliott def. Bassil Hafez
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Bassil Hafez (red gloves) fights Oban Elliott (blue gloves) in the welterweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Bassil Hafez[/autotag]: 90-day suspension with neurology clearance
Ramiz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall
Ramiz Brahimaj def Mickey Gall UFC 309
[autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
[autotag]Mickey Gall[/autotag]: 90-day suspension with neurology clearance
Marcin Tybura def. Jhonata Diniz
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jhonata Diniz (blue gloves) reacts after losing to Marcin Tybura (red gloves, not pictured) in the Heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; David Onama (red gloves) fights Roberto Romero (blue gloves) in the lightweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jonathan Martinez (red gloves) fights Marcus Mcghee (blue gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Mauricio Ruffy def. James Llontop
Ò(Editors Note: Graphic Content, Blood)Ó Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Mauricio Ruffy (red gloves) fights James Llontop (blue gloves) in the catchweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Viviane Araujo (red gloves) fights Karine Silva (blue gloves) in the WomenÕs Flyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 16: (R-L) Bo Nickal of the United States of America punches Paul Craig of Scotland in a middleweight fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
[autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: 30-day suspension
Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Charles Oliveira (red gloves) fights Michael Chandler (blue gloves) in the lightweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones (R) fights challenger Stipe Miocic during their heavyweight title bout at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16, 2024. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
Demetrious Johnson thinks Tom Aspinall has the physical attributes to beat Jon Jones.
[autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] believes [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] has the physical attributes to beat UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].
Interim champ Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is hoping to get his title unification bout with Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC), who defended his title with a third-round TKO of Stipe Miocic in Saturday’s UFC 309 main event.
“I think Tom Aspinall has the speed, the athleticism and the power to give Jon Jones problems,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Tom Aspinall is still young, and he’s still getting better, but I think this version of Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is very – Tom Aspinall can beat him.
“I feel comfortable saying that just because you have somebody who’s going to take the fight to Jon Jones and not be scared. Now, can Tom Aspinall run into one of those elbows and a spinning back sh*t and a flying knee? One thousand percent.”
Johnson’s current pecking order at heavyweight goes PFL heavyweight superfights champ Francis Ngannou, Jones, then Aspinall. He thinks Ngannou would also be a tough stylistic matchup for Jones.
“I wish I would have seen Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall because once again, I still think the heavyweight king of the world is probably Francis Ngannou because he never lost the heavyweight championship,” Johnson said. “He knocked out Stipe Miocic, and that was when Stipe Miocic was a little bit more active. …
“I think Francis has the power factor and the athleticism, and I bet you he can probably defend Jon Jones’ takedown, and I bet you he can probably deal with Jon Jones’ range.”
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 309 in New York.
UFC 309 took place last weekend in New York, and it produced a massive update in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] returned to action in the main event at Madison Square Garden, where he stopped former champion Stipe Miocic with a brutal spinning back kick to the body.
Entering the week at No. 5 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, Jones vaults back up to the No. 1 spot.
Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: 7 days mandatory rest
