UFC legend Matt Brown has pushed back against strong criticism suggesting Jon Jones` retirement was an attempt to avoid fighting Tom Aspinall. Brown believes this narrative is largely inaccurate.
Drawing from personal experience, Brown knows that past mistakes or controversial decisions by fighters are often forgotten over time, and he anticipates the same for Jones` legacy now that he`s stepping away. While many fans eagerly awaited a matchup between Jones and Aspinall, Brown feels Jones` extensive career achievements are solid enough that his retirement won`t significantly tarnish his long-term reputation.
Brown explained on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast: “Jon is a smart guy. He understands that in a year or two, this whole story will be irrelevant. It will all be forgotten. The division will move on, the UFC will move forward, and we`ll forget about this seven-month period of stagnation. Jon Jones will still be considered the greatest ever.”
“From his point of view,” Brown added, “he`s thinking, `Go ahead, say what you want, it`s all going to be forgotten anyway. I`m the greatest, I can do whatever the hell I please.` And honestly, if I were in his shoes, I`d probably feel exactly the same way.”
If anything, Brown argues that Jones` decision to wait seven months after defeating Stipe Miocic before retiring has primarily put Tom Aspinall in a more difficult position than anyone else.
Although Aspinall has been elevated to undisputed heavyweight champion, he now faces a limited pool of truly compelling opponents. He missed out on a potential superfight against arguably the greatest fighter ever and is instead looking at a series of matchups where he will likely be heavily favored to win.
Following Jones` retirement announcement, odds makers immediately installed Aspinall as a significant favorite against Ciryl Gane, widely expected to be his next opponent. Brown astutely points out that Jon Jones made quick work of Gane in his heavyweight debut, a fact that will undoubtedly be highlighted if Aspinall defends his title against Gane.
“It`s almost like Jon has some personal vendetta against Tom Aspinall,” Brown stated. “Like he specifically wanted to make Tom`s life difficult, and he`s done a great job of it. It puts Tom in a tough spot. He`s definitely the one who loses out the most in this entire situation. It creates significant challenges for him.”
“Where does he go from here?” Brown questioned. “Does he fight Ciryl Gane, the guy Jon finished in two minutes? Or Jailton Almeida, who lost to [Curtis Blaydes]? The heavyweight division just isn`t what it used to be.”
Brown reflected that Jones` light heavyweight run ended in a somewhat uninspiring fashion, with several fights that he found less engaging. However, Jones benefited early in his career from facing a long line of top contenders in the division, eventually defeating them all.
Jones` move up to heavyweight felt like an extra achievement on top of an already stellar career.
Sadly, Aspinall doesn`t have the same advantage now because Brown feels the heavyweight division is currently “picked bare” with a lack of significant incoming young talent to fill the gaps.
“Jon effectively dismantled the light heavyweight division,” Brown said. “He knocked out all the legendary guys people thought would challenge him, like `Shogun` [Mauricio Rua], `Rampage` [Quinton Jackson], Rashad Evans, and then Daniel Cormier. Towards the end of his light heavyweight career, the fights against [Thiago] Santos, which some argued he lost, and [Dominick] Reyes, also arguably a loss, became less interesting. But Tom is seemingly starting his undisputed reign at that point of being less engaging. The heavyweight division is supposed to be the most exciting, yet I`m not sure how interested people will be watching Tom fight these current contenders.”
“It`s somewhat comparable to some women`s divisions,” Brown continued. “You have one or two clear top contenders, and then there`s a significant drop-off where you question if others truly have a chance. It`s a challenging division right now. I`m not sure what the UFC needs to do to improve it. Maybe they`ll consider bringing back Brock Lesnar?”
Jokes aside, Aspinall still has the opportunity to build his legacy by accumulating title defenses, but the quality of his opponents will inevitably be a point of discussion.
This situation echoes discussions around Demetrious Johnson, who, despite his impressive 11 consecutive title defenses, is sometimes not placed at the absolute top of all-time lists because the flyweight division wasn`t perceived as deep as Jones` light heavyweight or Georges St-Pierre`s welterweight divisions.
While Jon Jones might face criticism now for potentially avoiding a fight with Aspinall, Brown suggests what he truly did was deny Aspinall the chance to gain significant validation and solidify his own legacy by facing arguably his toughest potential opponent, given the current state of the heavyweight division.
Brown concluded: “I just think Jon doesn`t care. He`s out partying, living his best life. He has millions in the bank and is financially set. I don`t believe his decision is driven by the thought that he`d have a difficult fight with Tom Aspinall—although I personally think he would—but rather, he`s just prioritizing partying over fighting.”
