Jon Jones has undoubtedly been a dominant champion. Putting over opponents like Glover Teixeira, Daniel Cormier, and more, Jones established himself as a strong candidate for being the UFC GOAT. Having said that, in recent times, Jones has been subjected to some scathing criticisms. Considering his reluctance to fight Tom Aspinall, Jones has been attracting quite a lot of flak recently. However, in a recent analysis, former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier laid down a different scenario.
Speaking on the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ podcast, DC stated that the prolonged absence of Jones from fighting might go against him. DC pointed out that earlier when Jones took time to prepare for a fight, age was on his side. But at the moment, that is not the case. Thus, it won’t be easy for Jones to come back and right away pin down a young fighter like Tom Aspinall.
“You can’t come back and take on younger, bigger athletes because [Jones] hasn’t done that. He hasn’t done that. When he took all that time off when him and I were fighting, he was the younger athlete, the bigger athlete. He was 28, I was 36 when we fought the first time,” said Cormier.
Surely, Cormier has a point here. Before fighting Stipe Miocic last year, Jones last fought way back in March 2023. And now, it has already been six months since Jones last defended his title. Meanwhile, getting confused at how things work in the UFC, Paddy Pimblett had an interesting take.
Paddy Pimblett Chimes In On The Jon Jones Situation
English fighter Paddy Pimblett has been observing the UFC closely. And he is confused as to how things actually work in the system. In a recent statement, Pimblett drew parallels with Jones and Islam Makhachev. He pointed out that if Jones is being allowed to keep his title, how do talks of Makhachev getting stripped surface? Especially when he has been a more active champion than Jones in recent times.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral MMA stories via Google! Follow Us
“If you’re making Islam vacate, [Jon] Jones needs to be stripped. If you’re making Islam vacate after 4 defenses, fighting people on short notice, you should let him try and be double champ,” said Pimblett.
Paddy Pimblett doesn't understand why the UFC made Islam Makhachev vacate his title:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 16, 2025
"If you're making Islam vacate, [Jon] Jones needs to be stripped.
If you're making Islam vacate after 4 defenses, fighting people on short notice, you should let him try and be double champ."… pic.twitter.com/igVN94oFY1
Thus, it is clear that the Jon Jones situation is getting complicated. Now, it remains to be seen what happens next.
Also Read: Daniel Cormier Takes A Brutal Dig At Jon Jones Asking Him To Accept A Fight With THIS UFC Star
