Ben Askren believes he knows why Jon Jones wants to fight Alex Pereira over interim UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall.
Jones, who won the heavyweight belt by annihilating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, is recovering from a torn pectoral, but he is hoping to make his return to the cage against Stipe Miocic. However, MMA fans and pundits want the GOAT to face interim champ Aspinall in a title unification bout.
In a recent tweet, Jon Jones stated that he has no interest in fighting Aspinall. However, he did not dismiss the possibility of facing Pereira.
Askren believes Jones is running scared of a tougher matchup.
“We want to see Jon Jones fight Tom Aspinall,” Askren said on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube Channel. “Aspinall’s got the interim belt. Jon’s got the belt. It just doesn’t make any sense. Make them fight and then if Jon beats him then Pereira versus Jon or something to that effect, but you can’t leave Tom Aspinall sitting over here with the interim belt.
“What Jon sees Pereira as a significantly easier opponent than Aspinall. He does, there’s no doubt about that. Aspinall, he’s big and strong, hits hard, and is tough to take down and he wrestles a little bit. He knows what he’s doing on the ground. Jon has seen Pereira and thinks, ‘I can do the same exact thing that I did to Ciryl Gane. Same thing. That’s what he’s thinking, for sure.”
Aspinall last fought at UFC 295, where he beat Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim title. The card was originally scheduled to be headlined by Jones vs Miocic, but the reigning champ had to withdraw due to injury.
Tom Aspinall, Alex Pereira or Stipe Miocic, who should Jon Jones fight next?
