Stephen A. Smith didn’t hold back on First Take this morning, taking aim at UFC legend Jon Jones. According to Smith, Jones is dodging the fight fans really want to see against interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
“I’m not going to accuse the greatest mixed martial artist I have ever seen in my life in Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. “I have that much admiration for him. Having said that, I’m incredibly, incredibly disappointed with this news. He’s absolutely phenomenal. He’s the real deal, he’s one of those dudes that a guy like Aspinall, he’s been on the record saying he just irritates (him) and annoys (him). He doesn’t even want to be asked about Tom Aspinall during interviews. Well, now with your retirement, Aspinall is the undisputed heavyweight champion.”
Stephen A Wasn’t Done
Interestingly, Cormier didn’t jump on the bandwagon. While acknowledging the fans’ desire to see Jones vs. Aspinall, Cormier was noticeably more reserved in his criticism. He hesitated to say Jones’ legacy was damaged and instead pointed to Jones’ historic dominance, reminding viewers that “you can’t erase what he’s done.”
But Stephen wasn’t hearing it all. He was adamant that Jones should have found the motivation to erase all doubt from fans thinking that he could be beaten by Aspinall.
“My point is, if you are a fighter, which he is at a very elite level, and that’s the fight that people want to see, give us the fight that we want to see,” Smith said. “What do we complain about with boxing? We complain about promoters and others getting in the way of us getting the fights that we want to see when we want to see it. And Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, he’s literally this kind of person. If you get on his nerves, one or two things will happen: He’ll want to kick your ass, which he’s fully capable of doing and does it at an elite level, or he’ll say to hell with you. ‘I’m not going to give you the privilege of fighting me’ because that fighter annoyed him.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
