Ex-UFC star weighs in on Jon Jones’ potential lack of confidence against Tom Aspinall and Francis Ngannou 

Jon Jones might not be confident he can beat Tom Aspinall or Francis Ngannou, believes former UFC title challenger Dan Hardy. Jones currently holds the 'undisputed' heavyweight world title but has not appeared open to unifying the title against Aspinall, who holds the interim heavyweight title.

'Bones' and Aspinall have both defended their respective titles, an unusual occurrence in combat sports given that an interim title is a place-holder belt granted in the 'undisputed' champion's absence.

In the past, Jones has also been accused of avoiding a clash with Ngannou, who held the UFC heavyweight title from 2021 until 2022. During that time, the New York native announced his plan to spend three years bulking up to heavyweight after vacating the light heavyweight title.

Fans begged the UFC brass to book Ngannou vs. Jones, but it did not materialize as 'The Predator' parted ways with the promotion in 2023.

Hardy, who now works for the Professional Fighters' League (PFL) as a commentator and analyst, was recently interviewed by talkSPORT MMA. During his interview, he said this about Jones:

"The thing that honestly undermines Jon, in my mind, more than anything else is his seeming lack of confidence to fight these guys. That is honestly the biggest thing. If I dig into it deep... His seeming lack of confidence to fight Tom Aspinall. I feel like he would absolutely feel the same way about Francis Ngannou. The man can legitimately punch holes through people... It's Ngannou vs. Aspinall, they're the top two guys now."

Check out Dan Hardy's comments on Jon Jones below (17:30):

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Tom Aspinall believes Jon Jones is ducking both him and Francis Ngannou

Jon Jones has been accused of avoiding a heavyweight title unification bout by UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. To boot, the Brit accused 'Bones' of avoiding Francis Ngannou for "three years" prior to Ngannou signing with the PFL.

Aspinall is pushing for a title unification bout with Jones, but with the deal still not completed, the allegations of "ducking" a fight have not stopped following 'Bones' around.

The interim heavyweight champion recently appeared on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, where he said this:

"Absolutely, [Jones is scared to fight me]... I think the fact that he didn't want to fight Ngannou for three years and now he's not wanting to fight me for over a yearThe way he manipulates the media and the public is super smart... Do I think he's scared to take the tough fights at this stage in his career? Absolutely."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments about Jon Jones below (7:50):