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An ex-UFC champion recently shared his thoughts on the accusations that Jon Jones ducked a matchup against Tom Aspinall by retiring. According to him, whatever decision Jones made was fair.
'Bones' was widely anticipated to face Aspinall in a title unification bout. However, on June 21, he announced his retirement from the sport, leading to Aspinall being promoted as the new UFC heavyweight champion.
In a recent interview with Carl Froch, former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards was asked whether he believes Jones ducked Aspinall by retiring. Edwards responded:
"I believe that he's the GOAT of mixed martial arts... Yeah, you can't argue. And he's been through [a] generation of fighters, fought many generations, and... if he wants to bow out as world champion, he's done his part. So, fair play."
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Check out Leon Edwards' comments below (1:54)
Leon Edwards previews hypothetical fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall
Jon Jones is a veteran in the sport with a career spanning 17 years. During this time, Jones garnered many accolades – from becoming the youngest UFC champion at the age of 23 to defeating numerous top contenders in the promotion.
In the aforementioned interview, Leon Edwards was asked how a prime 'Bones' would fare against a prime Tom Aspinall. 'Rocky' replied:
"Prime? I'll go, Jon Jones. Yeah, 100%. Like I said, I rate Jon Jones highly. I believe he is the best to ever do it. Tom Aspinall, he's the guy now, you know what I mean?" [2:33]
Edwards also mentioned that Aspinall is arguably one of the top heavyweight fighters at present. Aspinall (8-1 in the UFC) holds the record for the shortest average fight time in the promotion.
