Jon Jones may be the greatest of all time, but Tom Aspinall is the best heavyweight in the world right now.
At least, that’s what Laura Sanko thinks.
While Tom Aspinall gears up for his interim heavyweight title defense against the division’s fourth-ranked contender, Curtis Blaydes, at UFC 304 on Saturday night, ‘Bones’ is busy doing some early prep work for his long-awaited clash with former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic—a fight rumored to go down in November when the promotion makes its annual pit stop at Madison Square Garden.
As Jones enters the twilight of his combat sports career, it’s possible that ‘Bones’ may choose to lay down his gloves after the Miocic fight, depriving Aspinall—or Blaydes—of the opportunity to prove himself against the consensus GOAT. But if Aspinall’s endgame is to prove he’s the best heavyweight in the world, Sanko thinks he’s already accomplished that goal.
“I’ve never wavered from saying that Jon Jones is the greatest of all time,” Sanko told MMA Fighting. “That’s something that you’re not going to hear change coming out of my mouth any time soon. But currently, the best heavyweight in the world, I believe, is Tom Aspinall.”
Since making his promotional debut in 2020, Aspinall has blasted through every opponent the UFC has put in front of him with only one man—Andrei Arlovski—making it out of the opening round. Thus far, the only blemish on his UFC record came two years ago when he suffered a devastating knee injury 15 seconds into his first meeting with Blaydes.
Sanko Doesn’t Think Jon Jones Needs to Fight Aspinall or Miocic to Solidify His Legacy
Meanwhile, Jon Jones only has one heavyweight fight on his resume—a two-minute submission victory over Ciryl Gane to take home the heavyweight title in May 2023. Since then, ‘Bones’ has been laser-focused on a fight with Miocic, a man considered by many to be the best heavyweight in UFC history.
Sanko is undeniably excited to see how things play out between two of the best to ever do it, but when it comes to determining the No. 1 heavyweight in the world today, Jones vs. Miocic is essentially irrelevant.
“I think when we see Jon and Stipe fight, it’s going to be a tremendous fight,” Sanko said. “I think we’re going to have our eyes glued to that fight. But are we going to get the answer to whether he is the current best heavyweight by fighting Stipe Miocic? Or vice versa, is Stipe the best current heavyweight by fighting Jon Jones?
“I don’t know that answer is going to be fully revealed in that fight. For me, it would take Jon Jones fighting a Tom Aspinall to cement that.”
While Jones vs. Aspinall would settle the question of who is the UFC’s best heavyweight, Sanko recognizes that the fight will do very little for ‘Bones’ in terms of legacy, suggesting that the former light heavyweight king has done more than enough to cement his status as the best ever.
“Does [Jones] need that though for his overall MMA legacy? Absolutely not,” Sanko said. “No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t owe this sport anything else. He has paid his dues. He has already cemented his legacy. So it’s up to Jon at that point to figure out where he is, where his body is.”
Watch the full interview below:
