Tom Aspinall takes a look at how Jon Jones will fare at heavyweight.
The UFC heavyweight division has undergone a few shakeups recently, most notably the exit of champion Francis Ngannou. Ngannou decided to leave the UFC in search of other opportunities. This left the door open for a new champion to be crowned this year. Lined up to take on that challenge of becoming the “Baddest Man on the Planet” are Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane. Jones is making the move up from light heavyweight where he dominated for over a decade.
This move to heavyweight was a long time coming as Jones relinquished his light heavyweight belt in 2020 and began to pack in pounds for his heavyweight debut. It was no secret that Jones was the best at 205 pounds but questions remain as to whether or not he can have the same kind of success at heavyweight. One man who has been holding his own in that division is Tom Aspinall, he has a few thoughts on Jones’ situation in his division.
Tom Aspinall thinks Jon Jones’ reach advantage will not hold up at heavyweight
Aspinall has been doing well since joining the UFC heavyweight division. He won five in a row before suffering an injury in his last bout. Aspinall is now taking a look at a man who could possibly be a future opponent for him, Jon Jones.
“The massive advantage that he has amongst the light heavyweights is he’s got a massive reach advantage. So he gets a lot of his takedowns with the length of his arms and the leverage that he gets behind his takedowns. I’m not discrediting his wrestling, his wrestling is amazing, but I’m saying the leverage that gets with the size advantage is incredible at light heavyweight,” he said to Jamal Niaz on YouTube. “Whereas at heavyweight he is like an average size heavyweight, six-four I think so he’s a pretty much average size, average height heavyweight at least. So I don’t know if he’ll be able to get the same leverage against someone his height,it is yet to be seen.”
As far as picking Jones to come out on top of the talented Gane, that is not something that Aspinall would do. He knows firsthand how dangerous fights in the heavyweight division are and he thinks it is anyone’s bout to win.
“You want me to pick a winner, you can’t pick a winner in heavyweight MMA in my opinion. Anybody can beat anybody, it’s so dangerous,” he said. “I don’t know who’s going to win, that’s why it’s so interesting. That’s why it’s not boxing.”
Aspinall is currently healing up from a knee injury he suffered in his last outing against Curtis Blaydes. He is ranked sixth in the heavyweight division and has been mentioned in title talks before. If he returns to the win column later this year he could see himself in the cage with either one of these men in the future, and perhaps for a title shot.
