Gordon Ryan goes to great lengths in attempt to shut down "ducking" allegations against Jon Jones: "Are you people insane?" 

Jon Jones has not entered the octagon since defeating Ciryl Gane via first-round submission at UFC 285 in March 2023. He will return against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 this weekend in a bout originally set to take place last November. 'Bones' has faced criticism, with some fans alleging that he is ducking interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

Gordon Ryan, who has trained with Jones recently, took to Instagram to answer those claims, stating:

"@jonnybones entered the @ufc 16 years ago. He's beaten every single person the ufc put in front of him across 2 weight division. He's beaten multiple generations of champions in every fashion. To even put jon jones and "ducking" in the same sentence is absolutely one of the most absurd things I've ever heard."

He captioned the post with a question for fans, adding:

"Are you people insane?"

Check out Gordon Ryan's Instagram post regarding Jon Jones below:

Jones had originally been set to face Miocic at UFC 295, with both fighters suggesting that it could be the last bout of their career. 'Bones' was forced to withdraw from the bout, however, as he tore the tendon connecting the pectoral muscle to the bone.

It is unclear if he will retire after the bout or decide to extend his career.

Tom Aspinall breaks down Jon Jones' skillset ahead of UFC 309

While Tom Aspinall had angled for the opportunity to face Jon Jones for the undisputed heavyweight title, the UFC continued with the planned matchup against Stipe Miocic. The interim heavyweight champion recently broke down 'Bones' skillset ahead of the upcoming clash.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Aspinall claimed:

"His knowledge in MMA is some of the best to ever do it and I've got to say that. What he generally does with his style is he's very long, 6'4 - I mean, not as long for a heavyweight - but he fights kind of here and does a lot of this kind of stuff. His attacks are very varied so he'll go this way on the front leg, he'll go here, he'll also bring the head kicks up. He'll fake the takedowns, come in with the spinning elbows."

He added:

"His grappling, a lot of the time what Jones does really, really well is once he gets his hands together on a double leg, it is so difficult to break that so he'll be here, he'll set up a double. Once his hands are locked and he starts to pull his opponent away, he almost always finishes the takedown."

Check out Tom Aspinall's full comments on Jon Jones below:

Aspinall added that Jones has some of the best ground and pound the sport has ever seen. He noted that the uneducated eye doesn't realize how difficult it is to break Jones' hands apart once he gets them locked.