Bad look for the UFC.
If anyone’s gonna be the backup it has to be him
Did the UFC ask Jon if he would accept a backup opponent? Doesn’t matter what Tom agrees to.
Cash Is King
it should be Jones-Aspinall nobody wants see Stipe
Like Jon Jones is taking a fight on short notice if something happens. Be real.
If JJ pops for PED’s it’ll be Stipe vs Aspinall
If in a fighter & they offer me big $ to make weight & fight if they need me I’d say “sure”. Who doesn’t wanna get paid not to fight?
But I’m I really gonna watch video and train to fight those 2 specific guys?
Get sparring partners like the guys in fighting?
No and no.
I’m just gonna train half ass and get paid for nothing,
Then they turn around weighin day and say “one guy is sick, you’re fighting the other guy.”
I feel like I’d think “I’m here on a paid vacation and really not mentally in fight mode”.
I know this has worked before, but has it failed?
Have guys weighed in to not fight and then were asked to fight and they said they were sick?
Weird to me it don’t happen every time.
I couldn’t do the grueling cardio while on reduced calories in camp if I didn’t think I was fighting. And at the highest level at least half the game is cardio
jones wants no paRT
How? He’s obviously deserving of a shot at either of these guys. It’s one of those rare cases where the plan b would be more exciting than plan a. It’s like Vitali vs Lennox Lewis instead of Lennox vs Kirk Johnson.
I would bet the house even if Stipe pulls out that Jones will never fight Aspinall!
He doesn’t want that smoke against the hungry younger lion!
Jones would demand millions more at the very least. Going from facing 42 to 30 yr old who has 8 wins since stripes last win
Stipe hasn’t been in the octagon since he got knocked clean out by Ngannou in March 2021!
Despite his past record the man should be given a tune up fight before fighting Jones or any top 3 heavyweight after that long a layoff!
Jones beating him in his return fight wouldn’t be a shock to anyone except Dana in the post fight press conference gleefully talking about how incredible Jones is-he just beat the greatest heavyweight of all time!
Yea all due respect Stipe might be waaay past his prime…
jones just as inactive
both are nooobody wants to see Stipe fight
He literally fought 2 years after Stipe lost to Ngannou and won the belt-not exactly the same!
Stipe vs Pavlovich is a fight I’d like to see!
Even if Stipe is hurt, I see him trying to go in there because he knows if he pulls out its likely over and its one last huge payday. If Jones backs out, doubt Stipe takes Tom fight but we will see.
Jones doesn’t want a piece of Tom