Jon Jones' training partner Gordon Ryan offers an honest breakdown of Tom Aspinall's grappling prowess: "The heel hook wasn't particularly tight"

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones' training partner Gordon Ryan has shared his honest take on interim champ Tom Aspinall's grappling skills. During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Ryan, a BJJ black belt, spoke about a potential heavyweight title unification fight between Jones and Aspinall.

Speaking about the Brit's grappling prowess, he said:

"He's definitely got good takedowns. He's got decent Jiu-Jitsu. The one fight I saw of him losing, he actually got heel hooked. And, the heel hook wasn't particularly tight. That was a long time ago and Tom obviously, has gotten a lot better since then."

Ryan continued:

"Grappling is definitely a situation where I think that we can win the exchanges. Especially because, Jon already has a grappling background and he's very good at putting guys down, very good at mixing everything up, and very good at holding guys down."

Check out Gordon Ryan's comments below:

Ryan and Jones share a close relationship. In his fight against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, the BJJ Black Belt's attendance was witnessed in the corner for the first time. After the event, the 29-year-old even shared a heartfelt message to 'Bones' on Instagram.

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Magomed Ankalaev accuses Jon Jones of "running" from Tom Aspinall

At UFC 313, Magomed Ankalaev dethroned Alex Pereira to become the new light heavyweight champion. The Dagestani fighter subsequently took shots at Jon Jones regarding a potential fight against Tom Aspinall.

Since beating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, fans have been campaigning for a heavyweight championship fight between Jones and Aspinall. However, due to several unforeseen circumstances, Dana White has yet to announce the bout.

A section of the MMA fandom believes 'Bones' is avoiding a fight against the Brit, and Ankalaev is a part of them. The light heavyweight champ took to X and wrote:

"Jonny steroid machine was very disappointed. I beat Alex please fight big Tom@AspinallMMA stop running."

Check out Magomed Ankalaev's comments below: