UFC legend Matt Brown isn’t holding back. In his eyes, Jon Jones didn’t just retire from the sport, he walked away from a legacy-defining moment.
Jones, long considered one of the greatest to ever step foot inside the octagon, has faced heavy criticism for calling it quits without giving the surging Brit a shot. While some believe he ducked Aspinall, Brown doesn’t buy into that narrative completely. What he does believe, however, is that the aftermath hurts more than Jones’ reputation, it’s Aspinall who comes out the biggest loser.
“It’s almost like Jon has something against Tom Aspinall,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Like he just wanted to completely ruin his life in every way possible, and he’s doing a great job of it. It puts Tom in a tough spot. He’s definitely the biggest loser in this whole thing. It makes it difficult for him.”
Aspinall now stands as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, but the shine of that title feels dimmer without a bout against Jones. His next likely opponent is Ciryl Gane, a man Jones dismantled in just two minutes during his heavyweight debut. According to Brown, that comparison alone takes the wind out of Aspinall’s sails.
“Where does he go from here?” Brown continued. “He fights Ciryl Gane, the guy Jon beat in two minutes? Or Jailton Almeida? Almeida lost to [Curtis Blaydes]. The heavyweight division isn’t what it was.”
Jones, on the other hand, appears unmoved by the criticism. Brown says the former champ knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s playing the long game, betting that in a year or two, the backlash will fade and the legend status will remain.
“Jon’s a smart guy,” Brown said. “He knows in a year, two years, no one’s going to remember what this narrative was. It’s going to all be forgotten. The division’s going to move on, the UFC’s going to move on, and Jon Jones is still going to be the greatest ever.”
Jones may have walked away from a marquee showdown, but with an already stacked resume, Brown doesn’t think it’ll haunt him.
“On his end, he’s like ‘f*ck you guys, say whatever you want, it’s all going to be forgotten, I’m the greatest, I can do whatever the hell I want,’ and if I was in his shoes, I’d probably say the same damn thing.”
Still, there’s no denying what Jones’ absence means for Aspinall. The Brit came so close to cementing his legacy with a win over one of the greatest. Now, he’s left defending his title against names that don’t carry the same weight and he’ll likely be a heavy favorite in every bout. That’s not the kind of challenge that shapes greatness.
“It’s basically like these women’s divisions,” Brown added. “You’ve got one or two that make the worthy contenders and then it drops to like ‘does this person have a chance?’ It’s a tough division right now.”
Brown also reflected on the end of Jones’ light heavyweight reign. While it started with dominance, ripping through legends like ‘Shogun’ Rua, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, and Daniel Cormier, the final stretch felt underwhelming. His close calls against Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes didn’t leave the same impression.
However, Jones had the benefit of competition. He rose through a stacked division. Aspinall, by contrast, is stuck in a heavyweight era lacking star power and depth.
“Jon ruined the freaking light heavyweight division,” Brown said. “He knocked out all the legendary guys… then the tail end of his light heavyweight run it’s [Thiago] Santos, [Dominick] Reyes… But Tom is kind of starting right there with being uninteresting. The heavyweight division is supposed to be the division all the fans want to go watch. I don’t know how interested we’d be in watching Tom fight these guys.”
Brown even joked that the UFC might need to call back Brock Lesnar just to spark interest again. While Aspinall can still rack up title defenses, Brown points out that longevity doesn’t always equal legacy especially when the competition lacks depth.
In the end, Brown makes it clear: Jones didn’t run from Aspinall because he was afraid. He simply didn’t care enough to stick around.
“I just think Jon doesn’t give a shit,” Brown said. “He’s out partying. He’s living his best life. I don’t think it has anything to do with him thinking that he’s going to have a hard time with Tom Aspinall, which I do think he would, as a matter of fact. But I don’t think it has anything to do with that. I think he’s a party animal and he’s got millions of dollars in the bank and he’s set for life. He’s like ‘f*ck yeah I’m going to go party, why should I go fight?’”
Matt Brown’s take may sound harsh, but it’s rooted in truth. Jones walks away with his legacy intact. Aspinall is left holding a belt that should’ve come with a defining moment.
