Daniel Cormier Certain Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic Will Avoid Facing Backup Fighter Tom Apsinall at UFC 309

09/21/2024 08:52 AM

Tom Aspinall may officially be the backup for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, but Daniel Cormier can’t see either one of them actually fighting the interim UFC heavyweight champion in NYC.

18 months removed from his title-winning performance against Ciryl Gane to claim the undisputed heavyweight crown, ‘Bones’ is scheduled to defend his belt against the greatest fighter the division has ever seen on Saturday, November 16 inside Madison Square Garden.

Jones vs. Miocic was originally scheduled to go down last November, but a pectoral injury forced Jones out of the bout. That paved the way for Tom Aspinall to step in and take home the interim heavyweight title via a stunning first-round knockout of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

Since then, Aspinall has been angling hard for a fight with Jones. Instead, he’ll have to settle for a backup role at UFC 309, but even if one of the two headliners is unable to make the walk come fight night, Cormier isn’t convinced that either one of them would actually agree to fight Aspinall on short notice.

“Guess what Chael [Sonnen]? Now you have the opportunity to be let down,” Cormier said on a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with co-host Chael Sonnen. “Step into my shoes for once… If one of those dudes [Jones or Miocic] gets hurt, neither one of them is fighting Tom Aspinall. You’re out of your mind. No way! When Jon Jones got hurt the first time [at UFC 295] Sergei Pavlovich was the backup fighter who fought. If somebody gets hurt, get ready for Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane. Mark my words, there you go” (h/t Sportskeeda).

Cormier thinks it’s a matter of ‘risk vs. reward’ for Jon jones and stipe miocic

Cormier doesn’t necessarily think it would be a matter of Jones or Miocic being scared of Tom Aspinall. Instead, he thinks it comes down to a case of “risk vs. reward” for the two combat sports icons who are in the twilight of their respective careers.

"It's not even about being scared. It's not even, it's about risk management Chael,” Cormier continued. “Whoever, if someone gets hurt in this fight, the reward versus the risk of fighting Tom Aspinall is so great, I don't believe that either of them will do it. Love that it's a part of the story now. We all love the story, we love a great story but I don't know that plays.

“I don't think he's scared Chael. But again, it's risk vs. reward. Jon Jones, I will tell you this right now, Jon Jones. To his credit, a win over Tom Aspinall does nothing more for Jon Jones than a win over me or Vitor Belfort or Rashad Evans or Shogun Rua or Alexander Gustaffson and all these list of great fighters that he's already beat." Cormier added, "But losing to Tom Aspinall, losing to Tom Aspinall does do something because now you see him lose. He's never lost. That matters to him now."