Jon Jones won't fight Tom Aspinall because he's too afraid of losing

Yahoo

4 days ago

MMA fans and pundits alike have spent the past several months calling UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones a duck because, they say, he's been ducking a title-unification bout with interim champ Tom Aspinall.
Anyone who claims Jones fears Aspinall is misguided, though. It's not that simple. Really, how could the man most people consider to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time fear anyone?
What Jones does fear, however, is defeat. He made that very clear when asked this question during a "Deepcut with VicBlends" episode that released Thursday: "Would you still love fighting the same way if you weren't champ?"
"No, I don't think I could ever be a person who loves fighting as a non-winner," Jones said. "For me, I'm so connected to winning, it's probably not even healthy. I see fighters that take losses, and they smile, and they hug their wives, 'Hey, better luck next time.' If I were to ever lose, I would be devastated. I would be angry, I'd be upset and depressed."
That's all we needed to hear.
Because make no mistake: With his dominance in the cage and given he's in his prime compared to Jones, 37, on his final run, Aspinall is a serious threat. He's probably the biggest threat ever to end Jones' unblemished record (sorry, Matt Hamill). Regardless of what Jones might say publicly about Aspinall, he has to know this deep down.
So would Jones really risk defeat at this stage of his career? Or more to the point: Would he risk closing out his illustrious career feeling that devastation and anger and depression that he fears so much? Not when he's already living his best life.
No matter how confident Dana White might be, Jones vs. Aspinall isn't happening. If you need more proof, listen to Jones answer the question, "Could we expect one more rodeo?"
"I don't know what life holds as far as fighting and competing," Jones said. "I do feel like I'll be a lifelong martial artist whether I'm coaching others or taking exhibition matches and things like that. There's a lot of great competition still in the UFC. I do view myself as more than a fighter. Being in my position, I feel like I have a lot more options than a lot of the other fighters as far as the ability to leave and return.
"And so right now I'm just focusing on love, happiness, kindness. We're at the quarter-century mark, and this year should be a really special year."
Sadly, a year without the fight we all want to see.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Jones' fear of defeat will prevent Tom Aspinall fight | Opinion