Dana White has stated that Tom Aspinall is the back-up fighter for the upcoming heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in New York on November 16th, but Daniel Cormier has claimed there’s no chance the UK star will actually get that opportunity on the night
“You’re gullible,” Cormier told co-host Chael Sonnen on the ‘Good Guy / Bad Guy’ after Sonnen suggested that both Jones and Miocic must have agreed to fight Aspinall if either gets injured before the event. “No, it does not mean that! What it means is now we have another opportunity for disappointment…
“If one of those dudes gets hurt, neither one of them is fighting Tom Aspinall. You’re out of your mind. No way. When Jon Jones got hurt the first time, Sergei Pavlovich was the backup fighter. Who fought?! If somebody gets hurt, get ready for Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane. Mark my words.”
DC then went on to back up his stance by mentioning another example where a back-up fighter didn’t end up being used.
“I don’t get the backup fighter,” Cormier said. “Remember when Charles Oliveira was going to fight against Islam Makhachev and Mateusz Gamrot was the backup fighter and then they brought Alexander Volkanovski in there? I get that you want to look at this thing with clear eyes, but I’m giving you two prime examples.
It’s not even about being scared. It’s about risk management. If someone gets hurt in this fight, the reward vs. the risk of fighting Tom Aspinall is so great, I don’t believe that either of them will do it. Love that it’s a part of the story now. We all love the story. We love a great story. But I don’t know that it plays.”
Cormier also went on to make a prediction that the only way a fight between Jones and Aspinall happens is if the heavyweight champ loses to Miocic.
“Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is more likely to happen if Stipe Miocic wins,” Cormier said. “That’s my take… If Stipe wins and Jones loses and feels like he has something to prove, it’s more likely that he fights Tom Aspinall. If he wins, he’ll go off into the sunset.”
