"Jon Jones is the puppet master" - Islam Makhachev's coach weighs in on the UFC heavyweight title drama 

Jon Jones has not entered the octagon since last November when he defeated Stipe Miocic via third-round TKO at UFC 309 to defend his heavyweight title for the first time. While fans have gone as far as starting petitions to get him stripped, that is unlikely to take place.

Javier Mendez, who coaches Islam Makhachev, recently labeled 'Bones' as a puppet master while discussing the heavyweight title picture. Speaking on his podcast, Javier & Mo Show, the American Kickboxing Academy founder stated:

"I think Jon Jones is the puppet master. He's controlling these guys. He's so good at the media that he knows how to control it. He knows what he's saying. Even Dana White is going, 'what the h**l is going on? I don't know.' But, Jon Jones he knows how to play the media. He's been at this for a long time. He ain't no rookie. He knows what he's doing. He can play it the way he wants to play it and he's getting attention. So, good for him."

When asked if he believes Jones is attempting to get under Tom Aspinall's skin, Mendez claimed:

"I don't know. I don't know if he even cares to get under Tom's skin. I know from Tom's point of view, everything I hear Tom says, I'm going to agree with. I go, 'yeah, he's right'. But I hear Jones say something, I'm like, 'well, Jones is like whatever, I've done that, been there, I've been the GOAT, I am the GOAT, I'm this, I'm that, I've been around forever, no one's taking my belt'. He's got a right to do what he wants."

Check out Javier Mendez's comments on Jon Jones below (32:05):

Mendez added that he doesn't know what is real and what isn't in regards to the heavyweight title picture. He noted that he won't believe Jones and Aspinall will clash until the UFC officially announces the bout.

---

Jon Jones recently teased a matchup with Tom Aspinall

While fans believe Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall will not share the octagon, the heavyweight champion recently teased that things are happening behind the scenes. Championship Rounds shared his comments on X:

"🚨 Jon Jones provides an update on the Tom Aspinall fight "The UFC, I and Tom, we all got a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes... Right now, Tom and I have agreed to wait for the UFC to make their announcements. So I legally can't really talk about it." 👀"

Check out the X post from Championship Rounds below: