Dana White’s right, Jon Jones is the GOAT, but he’ll tarnish controversial UFC legacy if he ducks Tom Aspinall

IF UFC 309 really is the end for Jon Jones, it’s been one hell of a career.

Inside – and very, very much – outside of the octagon. 

In fact, it can be said without any hesitation that no MMA fan on the planet could have predicted how Jones’ career and life would pan out when he made his UFC debut as a fresh-faced 21-year-old.

It’s been 13 years of nothing but pure dominance from the sport’s former pound-for-pound king. 

Legend and legend were slayed after he claimed the light-heavyweight title, with each victory enhancing his own. 

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and bitter rival Daniel Cormier are just some of the iconic figures who have all fallen at the hands of Jones over the years. 

Jones’ incredible body of work inside the octagon and the subsequent accolades are worthy of the highest praise. 

As is his longevity and ability to seemingly still be at the peak of his powers as he knocks on his forties. 

Just ask Ciryl Gane how it feels to tangle with a supposedly out-of-his-prime Jones. 

Jones, as he’s done a myriad of times in his career, made it look easy in his heavyweight debut against the Frenchman last March, submitting him in a mere 124 seconds.

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The demolition job of Gane saw Jones fulfil a goal he set well over a decade ago – becoming a two-division champion. 

It further etched his name into the history books and strengthened his near rock-solid claim to the title of mixed martial arts’ GOAT – a title UFC president Dana White, and many others, have repeatedly bestowed upon him. 

But any tale of Jones’ story or hailing of his career would be dishonest if we were to ignore his transgressions, of which there have been plenty, outside of the cage.

His troubles, unsurprisingly, began not long after he became a champion. 

A DUI in 2012 kicked things off, although that was far from his most infamous out-of-the-cage incident.

That was the 2015 hit-and-run crash with a pregnant woman, which resulted in him being stripped of the light-heavyweight title. 

He would plead guilty to fleeing the scene of an accident and was hit with 18 months of supervised probation.

Stunningly, in September 2021, he found himself in trouble with the law just hours after his induction into the Hall of Fame.

Jones was charged with one count of domestic battery following an alleged incident with his fiancee mother of his three daughters, Jessie Moses.

The charges, however, ended being dropped. 

And just this year, Jones was accused of assaulting and threatening to kill a drug tester when she tried to obtain a urine sample from him – an accusation he denied.

Jones pled guilty to the charges and just a few days ago agreed to attend anger management to resolve them.

Jones’ troubles have also included three failed drug tests, two of which were for performance-enhancing substances.

Independent arbitrators, however, twice exonerated him of intentionally taking the banned substances found in his system before and after his first and second respective meetings with bitter rival Cormier. 

The God-fearing Jones has shown us over the years that he’s the living embodiment of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – although he’s seemingly taking steps to curb that 

Failed drug tests and incidents outside the octagon, however, can’t take away from the fact Jones is the embodiment of greatness and has set the benchmark for all those aspiring to be “the greatest”. 

Fifteen wins in championship bouts, a whopping 11 title defences and the destructions of legends of the sport have set Jones’ legacy in stone. 

Retirement, understandably, has been mooted ahead of his maiden defence of the heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in the early hours of Sunday. 

Jones has earned the right ride off into the sunset and move on to a new chapter of his life after his clash of veterans with former two-time heavyweight king Stipe Miocic, something many believe he’ll do if he’s victorious in his homecoming.

But should he bring the curtain down on UFC 309 with what would no doubt be an emotional laying down of the gloves, he’d be putting perhaps the biggest asterisk on his resume.

That asterisk in question: his interim counterpart Tom Aspinall. 

Aspinall won the interim title in Jones’ absence, knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in 60 seconds last November. 

The burly Brit, who has beaten all comers since his 2020 debut, has even defended the interim crown – which has only previously happened ONCE in UFC history. 

The hard-hitting and fleet-footed Aspinall, who has near enough cleaned out the division, clearly represents the biggest threat to Jones and has the tools to hand him his first legitimate loss. 

But Jones, who is seemingly in legacy-preservation mode, has been dismissive of the pride of Wigan. 

He’s repeatedly claimed Aspinall hasn’t done enough to warrant sharing the octagon with him and is publicly angling for a stylistically much easier fight in current 205lbs king Alex Pereira. 

Jones’ statements on fighting Aspinall are contradictory to the soul of the challenge-driven killer we know that lives deep inside him.

But that being said, the blood, sweat and tears he’s shed in the octagon over the years – as well as his wins – have earned him Jones the right to pick and choose who and when he fights. 

A potentially legacy-enhancing unification bout with Aspinall is what the overwhelming majority of MMA fans, fighters and White all want to see. 

It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Jones is pulling the wool over our eyes with his dismissal of Aspinall and is willing to risk being bested by the 31-year-old wrecking machine, who has all the makings of a future all-time great.

It’s undeniably a big risk. But it’s also undeniably one worth taking in the quest for immortality.

Watch UFC 309: Jones v Miocic exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office from 1am on Saturday 16 November.

For more info visit: tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice