UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones’ coach, Brandon Gibson, is confident in his fighter’s ability to dominate any opponent, including interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall.
While many fans — and UFC CEO Dana White — view a title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall as the logical next step, “Bones” has expressed a preference for facing light heavyweight king Alex Pereira instead.
This decision has sparked accusations that Jones is avoiding the tougher challenge in Aspinall. However, Gibson dismissed these claims, framing Jones’ strategy as a matter of timing and maximizing opportunities in his career.
According to Gibson, Jones is in a commanding position and has the leverage to dictate his terms.
“I think the fans want that from a lineal standpoint,” Gibson told SiriusXM Fight Nation. “You want to see the belt get passed, not just a belt get vacated. But I always tell Jon, ‘Dude, you don’t owe anybody anything.’ We owed Stipe Miocic and the UFC that night on Nov. 16. That’s what we owed. We’ll see if negotiations can get done right, but Jon’s not ducking anybody.”
Gibson also dismissed concerns about a potential fight with Aspinall, noting that Jones thrives against elite competition, especially in long, grueling bouts.
“I actually think Jon is a tough matchup for Tom Aspinall. Obviously, we haven’t seen Tom with an average fight time of two and a half minutes — we haven’t seen much out of Tom, but that’s also a positive on our part.
“Jon is great at taking champion-level caliber fighters into deep waters. Jon is great in that fourth round and that fifth round. It’s not a matchup that scares us at all. It’s a matter of what’s best for Jon and his family.”
With Jones holding all the cards, the decision about his next opponent remains uncertain.
Whether it’s Aspinall for heavyweight unification or Pereira for a high-stakes superfight, Jones’ next move will undoubtedly shape the UFC landscape.
