UFC Icon and former champion, Michael Bisping, has taken a slightly different stance in his prediction for a possible fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
Michael Bisping Makes Surprising Change In Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall Prediction
The former middleweight champion has been a very vocal advocate for Tom Aspinall during his rise in the UFC heavyweight division.
Making his debut in July 2020, the Englishman has been on a tear and is now the interim champion after beating Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.
Currently, the undisputed heavyweight title is held by Jon Jones who recently defended his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 – but fans were not fully behind the bout.
UFC fans have been pleading for Jon Jones to defend his title against Aspinall with the Brit making it next-to-impossible to ignore his run.
Negotiations over a possible bout are reportedly in the works, after Jones initially dismissed the possibility and was labelled a ‘duck’ for avoiding a fight with Aspinall.
Bisping has been a leading voice in pushing for the heavyweight clash, as he beleives his fellow countryman will beat Jones and become claim the gold.
Originally, the UFC hall of famer predicted a one-sided fight between Jones and Aspinall, claiming the Brit would make easy work of the UFC GOAT – but Bisping has now changed his stance on the bout.
Bisping said (Via an interview with James Sweetnam): “I was kind of frustrated by the things Jon Jones was saying during fight week when he fought Stipe.
“Now, looking back, I kind of agree. I think he played it like a genius because it made the desire and the demand for the fight even bigger – and along the way playing some mind games with Tom.
“I do believe that Tom would probably beat him in a fight, but the way he played it was to drive demand, and I think it worked. Dana White wants to put the fight on. Tom Aspinall said that Dana told him that it’s going to happen. I would guess that it goes down in 2025.
“When Tom won one of his fights in London, I did a post-fight show on TNT Sports and I was like, ‘Ah, Tom Aspinall would smoke Jon Jones, it wouldn’t even be a fight’.
“Maybe there was a little bit of recency bias there. It’s not because I admire Tom. It’s because when I look at him and I see the size, agility, and power he has, I’m not surprised he’s now the interim champion.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he beats Jon when they do fight. But seeing Jon Jones and seeing what he did against Stipe, it will be a tougher fight for Tom than I initially imagined.
“I’d still pick Tom to win… It’ll be an interesting fight. I just hope it happens.”
According to Dana White, a fight between Jones and Aspinall to unify the heavyweight belts will ‘100%’ happen in 2025.
