Tom Aspinall destroying Blaydes may result in Jon Jones combat

Daniel Cormier thinks a dominant efficiency by Tom Aspinall at UFC 304 may jeopardize Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.

Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall rematches Curtis Blaydes within the July 27 co-main occasion (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) in Manchester, England. In the meantime, heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) is anticipated to make his first title protection in opposition to Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC 309 in Nov. 9 in New York.

However, if Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) can run proper by way of Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) and avenge his lone octagon loss, which got here by the use of damage, Cormier thinks he can put a wrench within the promotion’s plans.

“Might you think about if Tom Aspinall simply washes out Curtis Blaydes?” Cormier mentioned on his YouTube channel. “Then the firestorm that will begin to collect for him to combat Jones. … For there to actually be an rebellion, it must be Aspinall destroying Blaydes. Solely due to this, you’ve seen Curtis Blaydes lose earlier than, so individuals would assume, ‘Oh, he beat Tom Aspinall, however we’ve seen him get beat by Francis (Ngannou) and we’ve seen him lose to different guys. He’s going to lose to Jones.’

“But when Aspinall goes by way of Blaydes in the way in which that he did Sergei (Pavlovich), and he’s solely misplaced due to that damage, individuals would lose their minds nearly insisting that he and Jones combat. If Tom Aspinall can get by way of this combat, and he’s clear and he appears dominant, there could also be such a fan rebellion that the UFC might need to be compelled to make Jones vs. Aspinall. I don’t know what that will imply for my man Stipe, nevertheless it appears like if it does occur, he’s OK with it.”

Aspinall, 31, has lengthy desired to combat Jones, however not too long ago instructed MMA Junkie that he doesn’t want “Bones” to outline his legacy.

For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC 304.