Gun to his head, Daniel Cormier explains why he thinks Jon Jones beats Tom Aspinall
Although Cormier is adamant that Jones quit by retiring and not facing Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in a heavyweight title-unification bout, he actually thinks Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) would have won the fight.
"Gun to my head, I would have said Jon beats (Aspinall) right now," Cormier said on the "Pound 4 Pound" podcast. "I would have said he'll probably beat him right now because guess why? Tom has never been pushed into those championship rounds. Once he gets to those championship rounds, even now, say Ciryl Gane pushes him 25 minutes. If he beats Ciryl Gane, but he learns to go 25 minutes where, that first time you feel that (gasp for air), 'I've got to get up off that stool after the third round.'
"Tom hasn't got off the stool for a third round. Francis (Ngannou), when he fought Stipe (Miocic) and he went to try and knock him out, by the middle of the fight, Francis was looking like he saw a ghost. Breathing out of his mouth and nose. ...You needed to fight Tom now, when he doesn't have that experience – especially as Jon Jones."
With Jones opting to walk away, the long thought of his matchup with Aspinall became merely hypothetical. However, Jones quickly flipped that narrative when he revealed that he is leaving the door open for a UFC return after re-entering the anti-doping testing pool.
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