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Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach, Javier Mendez thinks Tom Aspinall has what it takes to beat Jon Jones. However, if Jones agrees to lock horns with Aspinall, Mendez will favour 'Bones' to prevail.
The UFC heavyweight title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall is clouded as Jones has hinted at potential retirement and asked Aspinall to find another opponent.
In the meantime, Aspinall is prepared to put Jones behind him and take on any other formidable opponent, as his sole objective is to win the undisputed UFC heavyweight title.
Elsewhere, UFC CEO Dana White has reaffirmed that Jones was offered and accepted the deal to fight Aspinall. However, the MMA fandom does not yet have clarity on the matter.
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Mendez appeared in a recent interview with Submission Radio. He was asked about his views on the potential Jones vs. Aspinall bout. The AKA head coach responded with:
"Tom is definitely one of the individuals who has the potential to actually beat Jon, yes. But if Jon accepts the fight, I've always said it that Jon must know he can beat him. So I would favor Jon slightly to be able to win the fight."
He added:
"Am I right? No. I don't know. We are all wishing what we want, saying what we want, but you know what actually happens in the fight is going to happen in the fight. But Tom Aspinall is the real deal."
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach Javier Mendez's comments below (19:22):
Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach explains why UFC won't strip Jon Jones
In a recent episode of his The Javier & Mo Show, Javier Mendez discussed how the UFC will try to force the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall bout until the very end, and if 'Bones' doesn't agree, he will ultimately be stripped.
But if the story has a different conclusion, the promotion will benefit from it. Mendez, who does not pay heed to rumors, is waiting for official news on the fight. He said:
"There will come a point where the UFC says, 'You are gonna fight or we are gonna strip.' They'll call the shots when they want to call the shots. In the meantime, as long as they know they are working toward that goal of matching those two guys, they'll keep holding on."
He added:
"They don't want to strip Jon because if they strip him, they have lost that opportunity. If they continue to keep playing and the media keeps playing, that fight gets built, built, built. It's a good play on both sides."
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach Javier Mendez's comments below (33:38):
