UFC heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall doesn’t think it’ll be a walk in the park for Jon Jones in his planned move to heavyweight in 2022.
Aspinall is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous heavyweight contenders in the UFC. After seven-straight wins, he’ll get a main event slot against Alexander Volkov on the upcoming UFC London card in March.
Jones is expected to make his return to the Octagon in 2022 at heavyweight, but it’s unclear if he’ll face heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next. He’s been sidelined for nearly two years amidst an ongoing contract dispute with the UFC, in addition to his preparation for the move up in weight.
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Aspinall opined on who would win in a matchup between Ngannou and Jones.
“Ngannou… I think the big jump between (light heavyweight and heavyweight), him (Jones) carrying an extra 30, 40, 50 pounds, whatever he’s put on, that’s very difficult man, that’s very difficult,” Aspinall said. “That’s a lot of weight to carry around with you that you’re not used to before. Then you’ve got to fight a guy who’s naturally that weight. So, I think it’s gonna be a lot more difficult than a lot of people think. But obviously, Jones is much more skilled than Ngannou, so I don’t know. But I think Ngannou just looks unstoppable at the moment.”
Depending on how his fight with Volkov plays out, Aspinall and Jones could be on a collision course soon. The heavyweight title picture is a bit uncertain as Ngannou continues to quarrel with the UFC brass.
Jones vacated the UFC light heavyweight title following his win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. Reyes and Jan Blachowicz would go on to fight for the vacant belt just months later.
UFC President Dana White has remained cautiously optimistic about Jones challenging for the heavyweight title next.
As the UFC faithful continues to wait for Jones’ return to the cage, speculation continues to grow as to how he’ll do at heavyweight. Aspinall may not be alone in his reservations of Jones’ planned move to challenge for heavyweight gold.
Do you agree with Tom Aspinall’s comments on Jon Jones?
