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Brett Okamoto
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion john jones believe that Tom Aspinall is a “one-trick pony” based on Aspinall’s brief title fight Cyril Gane Last month.
Aspinall (15-3) saw his first official title defense end in a no-contest at UFC 321 on October 25, when he was unable to advance after being accidentally poked in the eye by Gane in the first round. The bout lasted only 4 minutes, 35 seconds, but Jones indicated that he was far more impressed by Gane than Aspinall, whom he submitted to win the heavyweight title in March 2023.
“Tom’s a great athlete, but I feel like he’s a one-trick pony,” Jones told the “NoScripts” podcast on Wednesday. “I believe his wrestling and jiu-jitsu are incredibly overrated. He has a couple of beautiful [combination]In his last fight I got to learn a lot about his patterns. That’s really about it. That’s one thing he’s setting up really well.
“He couldn’t touch Cyril Gane at all, I felt that way. I felt Gane was just warming up. Gane had his hands down, he was shaking his shoulders, bouncing around, touching him. He was very spontaneous.”
Jones (28-1) was linked to a potential title unification matchup with Aspinall during the first half of 2025, but he ultimately announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in June. He has since expressed interest in returning and has stated that he would like to fight the current light heavyweight champion alex perera At a planned UFC event at the White House next year. He has not expressed interest in facing Aspinall.
According to UFC CEO Dana White, the UFC intends to re-book the championship matchup between Aspinall and Gane. However, Aspinall is still dealing with the effects of the eye poke. According to the latest updates from his father and head coach, Aspinall has not regained full vision in both eyes. His right eye was initially more damaged than his left eye, although the blow to the eye affected both.
