Ahead of his return this weekend at UFC 309, heavyweight star, Jon Jones has hit back at an unlikely rival in the form of Magomed Ankalaev, after the Russian accused him of ducking a fight with current interim heavyweight gold holder, Tom Aspinall.
Jones, a former two-time undisputed light heavyweight gold holder, is slated to return this weekend in the headliner of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, taking on former champion, Stipe Miocic in the pair’s rescheduled main event clash in New York.
Sidelined since March of last year, Rochester native, Jones most recently landed the vacant heavyweight crown with a dominant opening round win over Ciryl Gane, submitting the former interim champion with a guillotine choke submission a year ago.
And ahead of his comeback fight, Jones has hit the headlines after playing down the chances of taking on Aspinall in a title unification pairing should he defeat Miocic, instead weighing up a showdown against former two-weight champion, Alex Pereira.
“More than likely not,” Jones told Kevin Iole when asked if he would fight Aspinall after UFC 309. “I feel like Tom Aspinall is, I don’t want to say nobody, but he just hasn’t proven anything. He hasn’t done anything. I understand he won his belt against Sergei, and Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else, so it’s like, I’m not here to gamble someone else making a name off of me.”
“If there were to be a fight of a guy that’s still on our UFC roster that would be not only financially worth it, but legacy worth it, it would be Alex Pereira,” Jones said. “We’re both 37 years old. Right now, I weigh about 235. I’m an incredibly light heavyweight. I think Pereira walks around at 240. I think that fight would go much farther on my legacy than a young man who’s cool today, and may be gone tomorrow.
Jon Jones takes aim at Russian star, Magomed Ankalaev
Himself eyeing a title offing with Sao Paulo native, Pereira next, former title chaser, Ankalaev has accused Jones of ducking a fight with Aspinall — leading to a fiery response from the heavyweight kingpin.
“Magomed (Ankalaev) jealousy won’t earn you legend status, my friend,” Jon Jones posted on his official X account overnight. “Train harder, hate less. Want to truly insult me? Break some of my records first. Let’s get started.”