Following months of postponement of the unification bout by Jon Jones, many—including UFC vet Anthony Smith—believe “Bones” may be trolling interim champion Tom Aspinall.
For some time now, Aspinall has been chasing a fight with Jones to unify the heavyweight title, but the undisputed champ has remained elusive. Following his bout and win over Stipe Miocic, Jones gave up his retirement plans and hinted at a possible fight with Alex Pereira. However, UFC CEO Dana White disclosed that the heavyweight title must be unified before Jones can move on. Since that announcement, Jones has remained unavailable for a fight with Aspinall, leaving the Brit restless as he awaits the bout.
Aspinall even recently surpassed the record as the longest-reigning interim champion in UFC history, and all this waiting is clearly starting to wear on him. And that’s exactly what Jones wants—at least, according to Anthony Smith.
“I have a lot of love and respect for Tom Aspinall, but if I’m Tom, I’m probably going to be a little quieter,” Smith said on UFC Live. “I think that he’s poking, and he’s prodding, and he’s trying to attack Jon’s ego a little bit, and force Jon into this ego competition where Jon says, ‘I’m not afraid of you! I want to go fight now!’ Jon is not going to do that.
“Jon Jones, in every single part of his life, has to be in control of it. Jon is a master manipulator, and he’s a master at the mind games that are behind this sport. He’s been doing it for so many years, against the best guys in the world.”
Smith—one of the most experienced veterans in UFC history—knows more than most about Jones, having faced him himself. Given his experience, Smith believes Aspinall should change his approach, because he’s playing right into Jones’ hands.
“So I understand that Tom Aspinall has this fighter mindset where he wants to say, ‘I’m better than you, and you think you’re better than me, so I’m going to keep attacking that.’ Jon doesn’t care about any of that,” Smith said. “The person who cares the least in every negotiation wins. Jon Jones does not care what Tom Aspinall wants, and in fact, wants to do the complete opposite of what Tom Aspinall wants. If Jon and Tom want the exact same thing, then Jon doesn’t want it anymore. That’s how Jon is going to operate.
“It’s one of the most exhausting things that I’ve ever had to deal with, and I have to respect it. Jon is the master at emotionally and mentally exhausting people, and you can see it in Tom Aspinall already. He’s starting to get tired.”
While Aspinall was content with the wild goose chase initially, the fighter has grown tired of being on the sidelines in the prime of his career. He has now requested that the heavyweight champion make up his mind—or Aspinall will move on to another opponent.
