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Jon Jones is already cemented as one of the all-time greats in MMA. His legacy won’t be tarnished even if he retires without facing UFC interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall.
That’s the take from UFC veteran Matt Brown, in an interview on the ‘Fighter vs. Writer’ podcast, who believes Jones has done enough in his career to dictate his own path.
Brown argues that after 16 years of dominating the UFC, Jones has earned the right to call his shots.
Jones is set to defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in November at UFC 309 in New York. Meanwhile, Aspinall has been vocal about wanting a shot at Jones after winning the interim title in 2023 and knocking out Curtis Blaydes.
Brown understands Aspinall’s hunger for that fight, but he doesn’t think it’ll matter in the long run. “The fact is, it will be forgotten,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Maybe people will talk for a day or two on Reddit, saying Jon was scared of Tom, but by next week, he’ll still be the greatest ever. No one’s going to say he’s not the greatest because he didn’t fight Aspinall.”
Brown compared the situation to Georges St-Pierre’s return to win the middleweight belt against Michael Bisping in 2017.
St-Pierre was expected to face interim champ Robert Whittaker but retired instead, and nobody called him out for it. Brown believes Jones could retire after the Miocic fight and the talk about him ducking Aspinall would fade just as quickly.
While Aspinall keeps pushing for the Jones fight, Brown doesn’t think that’s even on Jones’ radar. “I don’t remember Jon ever saying he’s trying to be the greatest heavyweight,” Brown said. “He’s the greatest fighter of all time. He gets to pick his fights now.”
Brown acknowledges that some might debate Jones’ legacy due to his past with banned substances, but as far as fighting is concerned, Brown believes no one comes close. “We all know Jon is the greatest of all-time,” Brown said.
But what does the MMA community think? Let us know your hot take in the comments.