Daniel Cormier says Jon Jones may be in trouble if he fights Tom Aspinall after long break

Daniel Cormier believes Jon Jones could struggle against Tom Aspinall after enduring an extended layoff.

Jones defended his UFC heavyweight title for the first time against Stipe Miocic in November 2024.

With no official date for a unification bout against interim titleholder Aspinall, and considering the UFC's schedule has main events booked for several months, Jon Jones could be sidelined for over a year.

Jones has endured several extended layoffs throughout his fighting career due to suspensions and injuries. Yet, Daniel Cormier thinks this time could be different, which he explained on the 'Good Guy / Bad Guy' podcast on ESPN:

"You can't come back and take on younger, bigger athletes because [Jones] hasn't done that. He hasn't done that. When he took all that time off when him and I were fighting, he was the younger athlete, the bigger athlete. He was 28, I was 36 when we fought the first time... Remember he hit that lady with the car, and he was gone for a year. When he was gone for a year, he came back, he fought Ovince Saint Preux, he was still younger."

Cormier followed up by saying:

"Then we were supposed to fight at UFC 200, and he tested positive for the steroids. Then he was gone another 18 months. When he came back, Chael [Sonnen], he was still younger... Then he took two years off again and came back, and Stipe was 41. Chael, this would be the first time where he took off, came back, and fought a truly younger elite competitor... Because you're a 37-year-old man looking in the rearview window and seeing a 29-year-old kid, he's going, 'I don't know if I'm going to do this.'"

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments about Jon Jones below (4:25):

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Jon Jones mentions "many breaks" throughout his career while discussing potential return

Jon Jones has been active on social media over the last week, sending mixed signals to fans about his potential return. The UFC heavyweight champion has this to say when a fan claimed he's retired:

"I don’t know if I wanna call it retired, I feel like I’ll always have an ability to pop out and show em. I’ve had many breaks throughout my career, my identity outside of fighting is well intact. I’m genuinely enjoying life, I’m growing in different ways."

Check out Jon Jones' post below:

Notably, Tom Aspinall has fought in two fights over the past year and a half, both for the interim heavyweight title. The Englishman secured first-round knockout wins against Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes, leaving no doubt about him being the number one contender for undisputed gold.