Dominick Reyes believes Jon Jones’ unshakeable refusal to face Tom Aspinall is a matter of “risk management.”
After winning the interim heavyweight belt, Aspinall started his relentless callouts to Jones, who later expressed exasperation over the matter. This led to the heavyweight champ lambasting the Briton, including his MMA record. Needless to say, this turned into sour trading of barbs between the two fighters, but Aspinall later gave up on his demands.
“I think he’s (Jones’) smart, I don’t think he’s scared,” Aspinall said last month in an interview. “I think if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d be trying to do the same thing. If I could get more money, potentially, for fighting a guy who is 42, not fought for four years, and is coming off a loss, as opposed to a guy who is active, 30, and kicking everyone out, I would definitely take the 42-year-old and get the more money and the easier fight.”
Reyes, who faced Jones in February 2020, has the same view about the move. For the light heavyweight fighter, Jones is just trying to avoid a huge disaster that could destroy his current image in the promotion. Reyes thinks this is the same reason why Jones refused to have him in a rematch. Although “The Devastator” lost in the fight, “Bones” certainly experienced a tough match at that time.
“Tom is very similar to myself, but he’s a heavyweight,” Reyes told Middle Easy. “That’s super dangerous. He moves extremely well, he’s very quick, his wrestling is really good, his grappling is good, his power is off the charts.”
In the end, Reyes understands Jones’ decision about him and Aspinall. With a reputation to take care of, he knows that the champ would be taking a huge risk in facing younger and faster fighters in his division before he makes his retirement.
“I completely understand where Jon is coming from,” Reyes said. “Jon is Jon Jones. Say his name anywhere in the world, and people recognize it. Fighting Tom is a risk management thing. It’s almost the same reason why he didn’t rematch me, kind of thing: It’s too dangerous and not enough payoff. Tom is an excellent fighter.”
