Jones also stated that he will be rooting for his compatriot and would not be surprised to see him win.
“Whichever one of us wins, I don’t think Jon will fight anyone other than Stipe,” the American said in an interview with MMA Junkie. “After the Miocic fight, he’ll walk off into the sunset. He likes to come up with different scenarios like, ‘What if I fight Alex Pereira? What if I fight Asinall?’ What if my opponent is Blades?’ but he just wants to be talked about, and I understand that. The more people talk about you, the more subscribers you have, and that helps with sponsors. Jon Jones knows what he’s doing. Do I believe he would risk his legacy in a fight with a guy like me? Of course I don’t. Because if he beats me, how does that affect his legacy?”
“That’s why I believe the Apinalle fight is a fight for the current championship belt. When I told my family I was going to fight for the belt, I didn’t say it was temporary. I said just a belt. Honestly, most casual fans don’t understand the difference. They’re probably perplexed, ‘Why does Aspinall have a belt and Jones has a belt?’ They don’t understand the concept of an interim title and a current title, and they don’t care about that. All they see is a shiny belt that you hold in the octagon. That’s all they want. So for me, it’s a real belt.”
As a reminder, the fight between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blades will be the second main event of UFC 304, which takes place July 27 in Manchester, while Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic headline UFC 309 in New York on Nov. 9.