Tom Aspinall destroying Blaydes might result in Jon Jones battle

Daniel Cormier thinks a dominant efficiency by Tom Aspinall at UFC 304 might jeopardize Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.

Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall rematches Curtis Blaydes within the July 27 co-main occasion (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) in Manchester, England. In the meantime, heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) is anticipated to make his first title protection in opposition to Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC 309 in Nov. 9 in New York.

However, if Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) can run proper via Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) and avenge his lone octagon loss, which got here by the use of harm, Cormier thinks he can put a wrench within the promotion’s plans.

“May you think about if Tom Aspinall simply washes out Curtis Blaydes?” Cormier stated on his YouTube channel. “Then the firestorm that may begin to collect for him to battle Jones. … For there to actually be an rebellion, it must be Aspinall destroying Blaydes. Solely due to this, you’ve seen Curtis Blaydes lose earlier than, so folks would assume, ‘Oh, he beat Tom Aspinall, however we’ve seen him get beat by Francis (Ngannou) and we’ve seen him lose to different guys. He’s going to lose to Jones.’

“But when Aspinall goes via Blaydes in the way in which that he did Sergei (Pavlovich), and he’s solely misplaced due to that harm, folks would lose their minds virtually insisting that he and Jones battle. If Tom Aspinall can get via this battle, and he’s clear and he seems to be dominant, there could also be such a fan rebellion that the UFC could need to be pressured to make Jones vs. Aspinall. I don’t know what that may imply for my man Stipe, but it surely feels like if it does occur, he’s OK with it.”

Aspinall, 31, has lengthy desired to battle Jones, however lately instructed MMA Junkie that he doesn’t want “Bones” to outline his legacy.

For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC 304.