UFC 309: No Excuses Now – Jon Jones Must Face Tom Aspinall Next

Jon Jones was as dominant as he’s ever been in his heavyweight title fight with Stipe Miocic. He deserves plenty of applause for his latest display of brilliance in the Octagon, but let’s not dwell on it too long, because there are far more important things on the horizon.

Now that Miocic is out of the way, Jones can finally turn his attention to the fight we should have gotten instead: a title-unifying showdown with interim champ Tom Aspinall.

Jones, the former light heavyweight champ and one of the best fighters ever, met Miocic in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 309 card in New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden. His fight with the 42-year-old two-time former champ — widely considered the best heavyweight in UFC history — marked his first defense of the title he won with a quick submission win over Ciryl Gane early last year.

Jones really did make it look easy.

He began the fight by hitting an extremely slick sweep takedown, climbing into top position, and raining down his trademark elbows with such ferocity that Miocic was quite possibly saved by the bell at the end of the round, which commentator Joe Rogan said he scored 10-8.

Despite his success on the mat in round one — and his pre-fight goal of becoming the first man to submit Miocic — Jones abandoned his wrestling in round two and instead began to light the former champ up on the feet. He was so successful that Rogan noted Miocic was becoming “hesitant to close the distance.”

Rogan’s co-commentator and former Jones and Miocic opponent Daniel Cormier, meanwhile, bluntly claimed that the former heavyweight king looked “slow.” Play-by-play man Jon Anik, finally, posited that what we were seeing did not “look like the Miocic that thrice fought Daniel Cormier. “

After dropping two lopsided rounds, Miocic came out with gusto in the third and landed his best punches of the fight in the early going, but in the end, he did not escape the round. After being rocked by a Jones right hand, he absorbed a spinning kick to the body that deflated him instantly. A few follow-up ground strikes later, and Jones had officially defended his heavyweight title with a third-round TKO.

“He’s really good,” Jones told Rogan after his win. “He’s really durable. I hit him with pretty decent shots… It’s like fighting the Terminator. It’s very frustrating to fight someone who’s not responding.

“He doesn’t react much to getting punched in the face, so we planned to work the body.”

The performance impressed the commentators – most notably Rogan, who at long last seemed to have clued into the fact that Miocic, who had not fought since he was brutally knocked out by lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in 2021, probably had no business being in the Octagon to begin with.

“Jon looked very good,” Rogan said. “Stipe did not.

“How much of that was what Jones was doing, and how much of it was how much Stipe has left?”

It’s a valid question, and the truth is likely Miocic’s age and inactivity probably played nearly as big a role in his loss as Jones’ incredible skill. He never should have returned to the Octagon — at least not for a title fight with Jones — and the craziest part is that he didn’t need to either.

There was a much better, readily available fight to be made, and one that — contrary to UFC decision-making — fans clearly wanted to see more. That would be the fight Aspinall.

Hulking 31-year-old Brit Tom Aspinall has gone 8-1 in the Octagon, with his lone loss coming via flukey leg injury in a 2022 fight with Curtis Blaydes. He won the interim belt with a quick knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at last year’s NYC card and defended his belt with a quick knockout win in a rematch with Blaydes on home soil this summer.

Aspinall never should have had to defend his interim title. The moment he became the interim champion, he should have been guaranteed a fight against the undisputed champ Jones — but the UFC pushed ahead with their plans for Miocic anyway.

The good news is that the stage is finally set for it to happen.

Heading into UFC 309, Jones repeatedly claimed he had no interest in fighting Aspinall — if he didn’t retire after beating Miocic.

In the end, he decided not to retire.

“As far as my future in the Octagon, I decided maybe I will not retire,” he said to an explosion of cheers from the fans inside the arena.

Jones then conceded that, while he will need to do some negotiating with Dana White and Hunter Campbell, he is prepared to give the fans “what they want.” While Rogan inexplicably took that to mean a fight with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira — which White has already shut down — Jones was clearly talking about the title unification with Aspinall.

Not only does Aspinall deserve the opportunity, but he will be quite possibly the toughest test of Jones’ career. He will be bigger than the former light heavyweight champ, but moves like a heavyweight himself, and has proven he can end fights from any position, with 11 knockouts and four submissions comprising his 15 career wins. He has been stopping the UFC’s top heavyweights in minutes and sometimes seconds, and while he would most likely be a moderate underdog against Jones, he clearly has all the tools required to beat the champ.

And, you know, he’s only 31. Unlike Miocic, who retired with pitifully little fanfare after his UFC 309 loss, he’s actually in his prime.

Time will tell how long Jones’ negotiations with the UFC last, and how ugly they will get, but when he is offered a deal he’s satisfied with, it’s time to sign on for the fight with Aspinall.

It’s his duty as the undisputed champion, and whether he sees it or not, his opportunity to ensure he is not remembered for ending his career by avoiding the toughest challenge available.