If I was Jon Jones, I would duck Tom Aspinall too.

This Jon Jones saga seems like it is never ending, and although Dana has finally given some more information about what is going on, the fight is still not announced. Let me make my view clear from the start: This fight will never happen, and Jon Jones should have been stripped not long after UFC 309 because it was very apparent that he would not fight Tom. I understand taking the Stipe fight from his perspective, but it was so clear that he was never fighting Tom that he should have been stripped long ago. exactly what I feared would happen after 309 is happening now, that being Jon sitting out and giving the UFC enough hope that he will fight so that they don't strip him, but not enough hope to convince the fans or Tom Aspinall that the fight is happening. Jon is likely to become the longest reigning heavyweight champion in UFC history with only one title defense against a Stipe who is one of the greatest ever at heavyweight, but he was not the interim champion, he was coming off a 3-year layoff at 42 and was knocked out by another person who Jon conveniently avoided fighting being Francis Ngannou. 

And just to mention this, but Jon has recently just mentioned fighting Francis, which is hilarious because there is zero chance that fight ever happens. It's very easy to talk about a fight and call someone out when you know there is no chance that the fight will ever happen. In an ideal world Francis could return to the UFC to fight Tom Aspinall instead, but Dana and the UFC will never do business with another promotion and won't re-sign Francis.

Now getting to my original point, I actually completely understand why Jon is refusing to fight Tom. Jon is either one fight away from retirement or he's already there. He's 37 years old and is considered the greatest of all time by the UFC and many fans. A fight against Tom Aspinall would be the first time in Jon's entire career that he fights someone who bigger, stronger, and younger than him. It would be by far the biggest risk of his entire career, and at this stage of his career at his age it's just not worth it. The part that really bothers me and most other fans is the fact that he continues to hold up the division essentially just to stroke his own ego. Tom is in his prime and is being sidelined because Jon continues to play this game. The UFC is at fault as well, as they need to take control of their promotion like they have many times in the past and strip Jon of the title. I hope this situation ends soon, as it makes the UFC look terrible, and Jon look as bad as he usually does. 

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