Curtis Blaydes isn’t holding out hope that Jon Jones will unify the heavyweight championship with the winner of his UFC 304 co-main occasion vs. Tom Aspinall.
With Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) recovering from harm and holding out for a title protection vs. Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) on Nov. 9 at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York, the UFC booked a rematch with keen interim champion Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) towards Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) on July 27 at Co-op Stay in Manchester, England.
In strange circumstances, the winner of Jones vs. Miocic would face the winner of Aspinall vs. Blaydes. It stays to be seen what Miocic would do with an upset victory, however the majority of expectations are for Jones to win and doubtlessly retire. “Bones” teased he would make the unification occur when he dubbed Aspinall vs. Blaydes as a combat for the No. 1 contender spot, however that’s removed from a dedication.
Aspinall has made it clear he thinks Jones received’t combat him, and Blaydes is in the identical boat.
“If I win or if Aspinall wins, I don’t assume Jon’s going to combat anybody exterior of Stipe,” Blaydes advised MMA Junkie on Friday. “After Stipe, he walks away into the sundown. I believe he likes to toss out totally different situations like, ‘What if I fought Alex Pereira? What if I fought Aspinall? What if I fought Blaydes?’ He needs individuals to speak about him, which I get. The extra you get talked in regards to the higher your following grows and it helps your sponsors. I get it. He’s expert at it. He’s been on the web for so long as I’ve had Fb and Instagram, he’s all the time been a presence. He is aware of what he’s doing. However do I actually imagine he would danger his legacy towards a man like me? No. Trigger if he beats me, what does it do for his legacy?
“Are you going to be like, ‘Oh, that was the combat that lastly cemented Jon because the GOAT.’ Both you imagine he’s the GOAT already, otherwise you don’t. It’s like MJ vs. LeBron. In case you already don’t imagine that LeBron is the GOAT, there isn’t something he can do to alter your thoughts, and vice versa. In case you already imagine he’s the GOAT. Nonetheless you view Jon Jones at this second or after he fights Stipe, that’ll be the lasting picture. And I don’t assume he’s going to do something to jeopardize that.”
Blaydes, 33, mentioned he’s not going to “maintain my breath” for a conflict with Jones to ever materialize, so in his thoughts, that raises the stakes for UFC 304. If Jones does certainly retire after Miocic, that may elevate the Aspinall vs. Blaydes winner from interim to undisputed champion. In Blaydes’ thoughts, although, that’s primarily what he’s already competing for.
“That’s how I’m viewing it (as an undisputed title combat),” Blaydes mentioned. “That’s how I’m approaching it. After I advised my household, my brothers, my dad, my sister, ‘I’m preventing for a belt.’ I didn’t say interim belt. I mentioned a belt. Truthfully, a majority of informal fan, they don’t know the distinction. I’m certain plenty of them are in all probability perplexed like, ‘How does Aspinall have a belt and Jon have a belt?’ They in all probability don’t perceive the idea of interim vs. undisputed, and so they don’t care. All they see is a shiny belt and also you holding it in a UFC octagon. That’s all they want. So to me, it’s the actual belt.”
When forecasting the longer term with an interim title win, Blaydes thinks it received’t be a straightforward course of to get his undisputed standing. His a few years of observing Jones and his conduct leads Blaydes to assume the heavyweight division is in for one more messy stretch, however finally he thinks Jones will likely be stripped or relinquish the strap.
“It’s not going to be a easy transition of energy,” Blaydes mentioned. “He’s not going to only – I do know I mentioned he’s going to stroll off into the sundown, however I meant he’s going to ‘retire’ unofficially, however he’s not going to formally retire for who is aware of. It might be a yr, a year-and-a-half. Nonetheless lengthy the UFC permits him to string it alongside, he’ll do it.”
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