Jon Jones may very well be playing the MMA fandom, at least according to Michael Bisping, who believes that 'Bones' is feigning his disinterest in fighting Tom Aspinall. The purpose behind such an action? Heightening the level of anticipation for the heavyweight unification bout.
The more Jones brushes the fight off, the more eager fans are to see it, convinced that Jones is fearful of facing Aspinall. This frames the interim heavyweight champion as the only opponent who could beat 'Bones,' which could ultimately make the fight bigger than it is, and Jones knows that, again, according to Bisping.
So, during a Q&A ahead of UFC London, the ex-middleweight champion answered a fan question about whether Jones was frightened of fighting Aspinall.
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"Do I think, I mean, we haven't had the fight announced, have we? So, I'm not saying that he would duck him because he's one of the greatest, if not the greatest fighter that we've ever seen. I just want to see the fight announced, and I think that if Jon Jones doesn't fight Tom Aspinall, then I think that definitely will affect his legacy. I think what he's doing is playing a really smart game."
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The deep desire for the matchup was further magnified after Jones' three-round destruction of all-time great heavyweight Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
"I mean, leading up to his last fight with Stipe Miocic, he was kind of dismissing the fight, and that just made everybody want to see the fight even more. So, I think he's playing, like, a stroke of genius here and annoying everybody, you know, pissing off Tom Aspinall, and just ramping up the excitement for the fight. I think the fight will happen later this year, if not this summer, so until we know that, it's not fair to say that he's ducking him."
Check out Michael Bisping's thoughts on whether Jon Jones is avoiding Tom Aspinall:
UFC CEO Dana White has also been adamant that the fight will happen, urging the MMA world to ease their concerns. However, an official announcement has not yet been made.
Jon Jones has reportedly requested an unprecedented amount of preparation time for Tom Aspinall
Veteran combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani was the first to break the story that heavyweight champion Jon Jones allegedly requested six months to prepare for Tom Aspinall, the interim champion.
"I was told that Jon wants six months to prepare if the fight's locked in, and what's six months from now, September?"
Check out Ariel Helwani's claim about Jon Jones (27:00):
