Francis Ngannou has revealed his thoughts on the potential showdown between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
Questions have been asked of Jones and the UFC heavyweight champion’s willingness to fight the British star amid their public feud, with the fighters trading low blows online over the last few months.
Ngannou has had his say on the Jones v Aspinall rivalryGetty
And ahead of his return to MMA against Renan Ferreira, former UFC heavyweight belt holder Ngannou was asked if Jones is actively avoiding facing Aspinall.
The Cameroonian said: “I don’t know if Jon Jones is ducking Tom Aspinall. I think Jon Jones would be the best to answer that question.
“But I think Jon Jones does whatever he wants and fights who he wants. I think he is in the position to claim that.”
MMA fans have grown frustrated by Jon Jones due to his inactivity, unwillingness to vacate the belt and his upcoming fight against Stipe Miocic.
A fight with Aspinall is the official back-up if anyone were to suffer an injury.
UFC president Dana White has previously said that the winner will face the 31-year-old Englishman, but that is no reassurance to fans who believe both Jones and Miocic will retire following their fight at UFC 309 on 16 November.
Speaking to Sky Sports in August Aspinall said: “I’m going to be the back-up for the fight if one of them pulls out, you better believe I’m in on an hour’s notice if I need to.
“I should be the undisputed heavyweight champion, everybody knows that now.
“I’ll wipe out both of those guys in one night if I need to. I can beat these guys, no problem.”
Miocic is arguably the best heavyweight of all time, beating the likes of Daniel Cormier and Ngannou, but many fans see the former champion as a declining power – one that Jones would beat too easily.
Jones is widely regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time – but he’s facing accusations he’s ducking AspinallGetty
Aspinall is desperate to unify the division and is a back-up opponent to the upcoming title fightGetty
To them this isn’t a legacy fight, it is an excuse to avoid Aspinall who is the most deadly within the division with six first-round knockout victories to his name in the UFC.
Miocic is slowing and arguably doesn’t have the same punching power compared to his prime, whereas Aspinall is considered the best to the point fans crown him as the real champion despite only holding the interim title.
Since Jones attained the UFC heavyweight belt in May 2023 wit ha first-round victory over Ciryl Gane via submission, he has not fought due to a torn pectoral muscle.
His fight against Miocic was initially scheduled for November 2023 before it was delayed due to the injury.
Within that time Aspinall has been on a three-fight win streak, beating Sergei Pavlovich in the first round to become interim champion.
He defended that belt again with another first round knockout win, this time against Curis Blaydes.
The Englishman’s combination of speed and power has breathed a new life into the heavyweight division and fans want to see him against the greatest of all time, Jones.
In reply to a fan posting on X, Aspinall wrote: “Make no mistake about it, your legacy WILL be stained forever if you retire without fighting the interim champion.”
Jones then posted: “Maybe I’ll leave you with blue balls, but my legacy will be just fine. I’ve done way too much work in this game. There are people around the world who have been watching me fight since they can remember.”
“He would have to go on and win like ten championships at least in order for that to happen. The work I put in, that body of work ain’t getting touched no time soon.”
In other posts on X Jones has stated that he refuses to look beyond Miocic ahead at Aspinall because “you don’t get far in this career looking past opponents”.
