Ilia Topuria, a prominent figure in the UFC, has spoken out against the notion that Jon Jones chose retirement to avoid a fight with Tom Aspinall.
Tom Aspinall recently became the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, elevated from his interim status following Jon Jones` official announcement of retirement on Saturday.
Jones, 37, concludes his illustrious career with 30 professional bouts and an undefeated record in title contests. Despite Aspinall`s emergence, Jones had shown little interest in facing him, both before and after his planned final title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 last November, and a lucrative potential payday wasn`t enough to change his mind.
Jon Jones` retirement has elicited varied responses within the UFC community. While many have paid tribute to his status as an all-time great, others have accused the former heavyweight kingpin of deliberately avoiding Aspinall.
Ahead of his own lightweight title clash at UFC 317, the undefeated UFC star Ilia Topuria offered his perspective on the situation.
Ilia Topuria: Jon Jones Isn`t Running from Tom Aspinall, He Simply Wants to Retire
Topuria himself has previously accused lightweight champion Islam Makhachev of avoiding a fight by considering a move up to welterweight. Now, instead of facing Makhachev, Topuria is set to challenge Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title this weekend.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Topuria was asked if he saw parallels between Makhachev`s situation and Jones` decision to retire before facing Aspinall.
“Not at all. You can’t even compare that situation,” Topuria stated.
“You can’t compare Jon Jones with Islam.
“Jon has done so many great things in the sport. He fought the best of the best in the last ten years. So, I don’t think he’s ducking anyone.
“He just wants to retire. He’s tired, maybe, of the game or whatever, and he wants to retire. I don’t think he’s ducking anyone because you can find a guy always that’s [new], ‘He’s the next one [to beat Jones].’
“Even if he beats Tom Aspinall, there’s gonna be someone new.”
Quote: `Tom Aspinall has Jon Jones’ legacy in his hands`
While Aspinall`s accomplishments may not match those of Jones, some observers believe Jones` decision not to fight Aspinall could potentially tarnish his standing as arguably the greatest fighter ever. This largely depends on Aspinall`s success as the new undisputed heavyweight champion.
“Tom Aspinall has Jon Jones’ legacy in his hands,” commented MMA producer Eric Jackman on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“If Aspinall goes out there and becomes as great a heavyweight as I believe he can be, Jon is going to have egg on his face and this will become an indelible part of his legacy.”
Jackman elaborated that Jones would become “inextricably tied to Tom’s rise.”
“But if Tom Aspinall loses his next fight, it won’t have any real impact on Jon’s legacy.”
“In fact, people will rewrite history and say Tom wasn’t equipped for it, that he wasn’t ready. And if he had fought Jon at that time, Jon probably would have won,” Jackman explained, highlighting how the narrative could shift based on Aspinall`s future results.
Percy Harlow