Coach Greg Jackson thinks it would be dishonorable for UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones not to fight Stipe Miocic.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) defends his title vs. former champ Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in the UFC 309 main event Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Jackson insists Jones has nothing left to prove, but adding a name like Miocic to his resume is what motivates him.
“I think because Stipe is so legendary – I mean, the guy’s one of the best heavyweights,” Jackson said on the “Weighing In” podcast. “You could argue he’s one of the best heavyweights ever. So I think that’s the challenge that Jon needs because there’s always going to be young guys coming up. There’s always going to be a new phenom. There’s always going to be another guy that’s like, ‘Oh, this guy’s super tough.’
“So I think the attraction for Jon on that is it’s really two legends fighting each other. At this point in Jon’s career, he doesn’t need to fight. He could stop today and be fine. But I think that gets him up, the idea of Stipe and how great he is and how tough he is and to compete against that. I think he’s looking for a legacy thing there in my opinion.”
As of right now, Jackson thinks Miocic will be Jones’ final fight. However, if the fans demand it and Dana White pays him enough money, Jackson thinks Jones would be willing to fight Aspinall.
Considering that Jones was already booked to face Miocic at UFC 295 before Jones withdrew due to injury, Jackson says it wouldn’t have been fair to Miocic if Jones moved on to Aspinall.
“Maybe he will. I don’t know,” Jackson said of the possibility of Jones fighting Aspinall. “I do know that we had this fight locked up before any of that drama all happened. To me, it would be a terrible move to tell Stipe, ‘Oh, never mind, we’re not going to fight you after all. We’re going to go after this guy.’ I mean, Stipe deserves better than that. He’s not only a great fighter, but he’s a great guy, too.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
