Quinton Jackson figured Stipe Miocic 'would be a tougher challenge' for Jon Jones than Tom Aspinall

Quinton Jackson expected Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic to be a more competitive fight.

Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) retained his heavyweight title with a lopsided performance that ended with a devastating third-round TKO finish of Miocic by spinning back kick in the UFC 309 headliner. Miocic was widely considered the greatest heavyweight of all time, but the more than three-year layoff appeared to play a factor in his sluggish performance.

“Rampage” went as far as saying that he thought Miocic (20-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) would prove to be a sterner test for Jones than interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who averages the shortest fight time in UFC history.

“I feel like Jon Jones’ last performance, I don’t even think any heavyweight could beat Jon Jones,” Jackson said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I think he solidified himself as one of the greatest fighters on the planet and no disrespect to Aspinall. I think Aspinall is a great fighter. I’m a fan of his, as well, but I figured Stipe would be a tougher challenge than Aspinall. I was thinking it on paper. I think Jon Jones is the Neo of MMA. He’s Neo.”

Jackson knows first hand how good Jones is. He challenged Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 135 in September 2011 but was submitted in the fourth round. Jackson explained what gives Jones the edge in every fight.

“The reason Jon Jones has been so successful in MMA and has been dominating for so long is because his mind is so strong,” Jackson said. “I’ve been in the cage with that kid. I heavily underestimated him, and I have been watching his fights ever since, and I see the stuff that he does. He is doing stuff that nobody does. Nobody was doing spinning elbows. … Just the way he controls the octagon, his mind is really strong, and I’ve been telling people for years MMA is 95 percent mental.”