Daniel Cormier looks at Tom Aspinall and sees a fighter who is truly capable of giving Jon Jones his first legitimate MMA loss.
After Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) blew through Curtis Blaydes in just 60 seconds to defend his interim heavyweight title in Saturday’s UFC 304 headliner in Manchester, England., calls for a unification bout with Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) once again grew to a fever pitch from within the fight community.
Aspinall respectfully called out heavyweight champion Jones, who is expected to return from injury against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Nov. 9 in New York, both in the octagon during his post-fight interview with Cormier, and at the post-fight news conference. UFC CEO Dana White also stated he wants to see Aspinall against the Jones vs. Miocic winner, but “Bones” has remained mum on the topic.
Cormier said he thinks the pieces will eventually come together for Jones vs. Aspinall at some point down the line. If and when it does happen, he thinks Aspinall had a very good shot at winning.
“We are ultimately looking at the best heavyweight on the planet,” Cormier said to Chael Sonnen on their “Good Guy/Bad Guy” podcast on ESPN. “Because I don’t know if Jon Jones will beat this guy. But I will not be quick to say Jon Jones is afraid of him or that it’s a foregone conclusion that he beats Jon. Because I’ve been in there with Jones. I know how tough he is, I know how smart he is and I know how much he loves to compete. And if you love to compete as much as that guy does, he can never been counted out from a fight.”
Cormier has as good of insight as anyone on what it would take to beat Jones. They shared the octagon twice before in one of the biggest rivalries in UFC history, and they still remain some of the more competitive contest of Jones’ career.
Aspinall could the one to complete the mission and knock Jones off the top of the mountaintop, but the major question still remains if he will be able to secure the fight.
Cormier said if there’s one thing he “could give a negative grade on” to Aspinall, he said, it’s that he should’ve been harsher in his callout to Jones in the octagon, because he believes conflict is the best way to secure a fight and not kindness.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.
