Ex-UFC champ comfortable with assessment

Demetrious Johnson believes Tom Aspinall has the bodily attributes to beat UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Interim champ Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is hoping to get his title unification bout with Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC), who defended his title with a third-round TKO of Stipe Miocic in Saturday’s UFC 309 important occasion.

Jones needs to be compensated handsomely for a possible Aspinall struggle, and Johnson sees Aspinall as the person to beat him.

“I believe Tom Aspinall has the pace, the athleticism and the facility to provide Jon Jones issues,” Johnson mentioned on his YouTube channel. “Tom Aspinall remains to be younger, and he’s nonetheless getting higher, however I believe this model of Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall may be very – Tom Aspinall can beat him.

“I really feel snug saying that simply because you may have someone who’s going to take the struggle to Jon Jones and never be scared. Now, can Tom Aspinall run into a type of elbows and a spinning again sh*t and a flying knee? One thousand %.”

Johnson’s present pecking order at heavyweight goes PFL heavyweight superfights champ Francis Ngannou, Jones, then Aspinall. He thinks Ngannou would even be a tricky stylistic matchup for Jones.

“I want I’d have seen Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall as a result of as soon as once more, I nonetheless suppose the heavyweight king of the world might be Francis Ngannou as a result of he by no means misplaced the heavyweight championship,” Johnson mentioned. “He knocked out Stipe Miocic, and that was when Stipe Miocic was just a little bit extra energetic. …

“I believe Francis has the facility issue and the athleticism, and I guess you he can most likely defend Jon Jones’ takedown, and I guess you he can most likely take care of Jon Jones’ vary.”