Aspinall Forged A Shadow Over UFC 309 Combat Week
The build-up to UFC 309 appeared to be dominated by a fighter who wasn’t even competing in Madison Sq. Backyard on Saturday night time. Within the weeks main as much as the occasion the vast majority of the discourse surrounding the heavyweight title combat on the prime of the cardboard centered not on how the bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic would possibly play out, however slightly on the talk over whether or not interim champion Tom Aspinall ought to have been the one difficult for the belt.
As soon as combat week rolled round, Jon Jones appeared to tug the pin out of that grenade by labelling Aspinall “an a**gap” whereas chatting with the media and all hell broke free from that time on. Miocic was barely talked about throughout the the rest of the build-up (a reality the unassuming former champion would certainly have been delighted about) and “Bones” continued to seize headlines as he shouted from the rooftops about his plans to face light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira subsequent as a substitute of Aspinall.
Dana White, talking on the pre-fight press convention, left little doubt as to the place his thoughts was at on the subject. When requested if the winner of the primary occasion ought to face Aspinall subsequent, the UFC president responded adamantly: “The winner ought to completely combat Tom!”
Questions Left Unanswered
On Saturday night time each Jones and Miocic have been handed the chance to silence the doubters. Two of the best champions in UFC historical past locked contained in the Octagon collectively. Jones with the prospect to remind the watching world of his greatness, whereas Miocic will certainly have wished to show that he may nonetheless carry out on the highest stage.
There are some facets of Jones’s efficiency to be impressed by. He took Miocic unexpectedly, combating predominantly as a southpaw for the complete combat. This opened up the stabbing back-leg kick to the physique which he utilized repeatedly and it had it’s desired impact of draining the Cleveland native’s gasoline tank.
Jones additionally seemed in much better bodily form than we had seen him throughout his solely different look within the heavyweight division when he beat Cyril Gane to win the vacant title again in early 2023, having weighed in 10.4lbs lighter this time round.
For a lot of of those that criticized this match-up over the previous yr nonetheless, the non-performance of Stipe Miocic seems to be to have added gasoline to these flames. With the overriding feeling among the many combat’s critics coming into UFC 309 being that 42-year-old Miocic was just too far faraway from his prime to trigger Jones any issues, nothing we noticed at MSG on Saturday night time can have helped to alter these opinions.
Miocic hadn’t set foot contained in the Octagon since his defeat by the hands of Francis Ngannou in early 2021, and hadn’t tasted victory in competitors since beating Daniel Cormier in the summertime of 2020. When he did not land a lot in the best way of serious strikes on Jones over the course of virtually three full rounds on Saturday, those that opposed the combat from the start made their feeling clear, with Aspinall chief amongst them.
“The combat, in all honesty, went precisely the best way I assumed it was going to go” Aspinall informed TNT Sports activities afterwards. “That would have gone on for 5 rounds, may have gone on for one or two rounds, have you learnt what I imply? Jon Jones had the higher hand, he was extra athletic, he was exhibiting him extra issues, he was giving him completely different seems to be than Stipe (gave) him.
“Stipe primarily was operating at him with fundamental boxing strategies and in all honesty was too sluggish and previous to land the pictures. And that’s not me saying something dangerous about Stipe, that’s the actuality of it”.
The place Do We Go From Right here?
We’re proper again the place we started it could appear, with UFC followers nonetheless calling for a similar match-up they wished to see after Tom Aspinall decimated Sergei Spivac a yr in the past underneath the MSG lights to win the interim title. The key distinction now could be that any potential unification bout would be the largest doable combat the promotion may make following the occasions of UFC 309 combat week.
Jon Jones appeased the New York crowd throughout his post-fight interview within the Octagon by saying, “possibly we’ll provide you with guys what you need to see”. He went on to double again on these phrases when chatting with the media later that night time, however studying between the strains it sounds just like the champ may very well be swayed into dealing with Aspinall if the UFC are prepared to loosen their purse strings just a little extra subsequent time round.
The scenario definitely echoes that of the Jones-Francis Ngannou one just some brief years in the past, however with “Bones” tied all the way down to a long-term contract with the UFC we’re unlikely to see him observe his former rival’s instance and check free company. If Dana and co are prepared to moist the champion’s beak just a little extra then we may see him face Aspinall throughout Worldwide Combat Week 2025.
Stipe Miocic confirmed to Joe Rogan within the Octagon instantly after the combat that he can be formally retiring. He did it in typical Stipe style too…if Rogan hadn’t requested him, we in all probability wouldn’t have came upon in any respect.
Probably the most achieved heavyweight champion in UFC historical past deserved a greater send-off given his achievements within the sport. In a world the place Carla Esparza will get a video montage and a standing ovation from a packed area upon retirement, and with the vast majority of the MMA world transfixed on the Jones-Aspinall sopa opera that’s been enjoying out earlier than our eyes because the heavyweight champ landed in New York per week in the past, seeing Miocic slope off into obscurity virtually unnoticed serves as a poignant reminder of how rapidly the information cycle strikes on in at present’s world.
