Ben Askren has given his two cents on Jon Jones at heavyweight.
A three-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jones is still the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world after winning his second title last year against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. But, the belt has yet to be defended as Jones would withdraw from a scheduled title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November, which in turn led to Tom Aspinall winning a newly-created interim title the same night Jones was supposed to return.
Askren Says If Jon Jones Wants To Call Himself A Champ, ‘You Gotta Defend Your Belt’
Aspinall stands tall at #1 in the heavyweight division, however, it’s not the rankings that decide the fights, it’s the powers that be in the UFC with Jones and Miocic still very set on fighting each other later this year and CEO Dana White there to support it.
That leaves an odd man out in Aspinall, who’s been campaigning for a title unification bout more often than usual following his interim title defense against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.
“Why wouldn’t you get more aggressive?” Askren said of Aspinall on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel. “He just defended his belt. Jon is still there. If Jon was retired and he said, ‘Hey, I’m retired. I’m the best that ever did it. Leave me alone, young guy. I ain’t trying to fight no more…’ That would be great.
But Jon Jones currently has the heavyweight title and he says, ‘I’m the champion’. So, if you’re the champion, you gotta defend your belt…”
“Why Aren’t The #1 And #2 Guys Fighting?”
Jones is rumored to return to the Octagon this November in what would be a legacy fight and title defense made against former champ Miocic. If that is indeed the fight, it will have been around 20 months since Jones last fought with the interim champ out and about during his lengthy layoff.
While Dana White recently said “there’s no way in hell” Jones doesn’t want to fight Aspinall at a Contender Series press conference, Askren seems to be under the impression that the UFC boss may be protecting Jones, if he is not to fight a worthy adversary in Aspinall.
“In all the time that the UFC has been around, I was trying to think of someone who Dana White actually protected, right, where he has not made that person fight the next best person,” Askren continued. “Because that’s kind of the principle that the UFC has founded on is it’s not like boxing [where it’s like] ‘We’re gonna build you up to 30-o…’ We’re gonna put you in there against the best guys, and we’re gonna see if you can make it or not. Has Dana ever protected anyone else? I couldn’t think of it…
“Why aren’t the #1 and #2 guys fighting?” Askren said of Jones and Aspinall.
